Phantasmal Truths
by Parsec
Summary: Terrifying dreams...strange illusions...something is happening to the girls, but what?  [CAUTION:  Although this fic is only PG-13, it contains some rather intense scenes nonetheless...be warned!]
1. Chapter 1

Phantasmal Truths -- Chapter 1

**_Phantasmal Truths_**

By:Mark J. Hadley

**CHAPTER 1**

_ _

The city of Townsville…Buttercup soared through the night sky over the city, towards the towering monster in the distance."Where are the other girls?" she said to herself aloud."Heh…looks like I'll have to do this by myself…"She flew into an attack pattern, circling it around from behind and opening fire with her eyebeams.

The monster seemed completely unfazed by the attack, and slammed one of its clawed hands down.Buttercup barely avoided it, as it smashed into one of the buildings nearby, completely destroying it.She quickly flew towards it, ready to attack by hand, but its other claw had already come about, grabbing her right out of midair.

Buttercup struggled to free herself, but it was too strong.Watching in horror, the creature lifted her towards its gaping mouth, lined with razor sharp teeth and dripping with venom.She panicked, and tried desperately to break free, but to no avail.As its teeth started to close towards her, she screamed…

***

Buttercup sat awake suddenly, a scream escaping from her lips.She glanced around in the darkness of the room, and realized where she was._Oh, wow,_ she thought._It was only a dream…what a nightmare, though!_She wiped the sweat from her forehead, and clenched the bed sheets, pulling them back over her again.She was shaking a little._Oh, come _on_, Buttercup, calm down.It didn't actually happen…but…it was so real…I've never had a dream that was that real before…_

She cast a glance over at the other girls.They were still asleep._Well, at least I didn't wake them up_, she thought_…although I don't know if I can get back to sleep myself, now…_Slowly, she closed her eyes once again.

At that moment, she heard something that caused her eyes to fly open again.Sitting up, she looked over at Blossom, who was mumbling in her sleep, "…no….gotta stop…can't…no…_NOO!!_"She sat up suddenly, sweating and breathing heavily.Buttercup thought she saw tears in her eyes.

"Whoa…you too?" Buttercup asked. Blossom looked over, and seemed to calm down a little as she realized she had been dreaming.Buttercup continued, "I had a nightmare that some giant monster was about to eat me…"

Blossom nodded, wiping her eyes, "I-I was trying to stop a plane from crashing in my dream, but I couldn't make it in time.Everyone we knew from Townsville was on that plane.I know it was just a bad dream, but…"

"But what?"

"It…it was all so real," Blossom said, "I mean, I've had nightmares before.They usually don't _bother_ me…but _this_…"She shivered, "When I saw that plane hit the ground and explode, I really thought we'd lost everyone…"

"My dream felt real, too," Buttercup said, cringing a little, "I could swear I still feel the claw marks where the monster grabbed me…"She double-checked to make sure that there _weren't_ any claw marks on her, and felt a little sheepish, since there wasn't.

"Well, I guess if we…" Blossom began, but she trailed off as she noticed that Bubbles was mumbling softly in her sleep.An instant later, she suddenly stirred, frantically waving her arms and legs around and screaming.Blossom quickly shook her, "Bubbles!Bubbles, wake up!"Bubbles slowly stopped struggling and opened her eyes, blinking a few times.Blossom continued, "You were having a nightmare…"

Bubbles examined her arms, and whispered, "I'm…I'm okay?But…the bunnies, they were chasing me, and…"

As Buttercup rolled her eyes, Blossom said, "It's okay…everything's fine.We all had bad nightmares, too."

"Really?" Bubbles asked, glancing at Buttercup, who nodded."Were there big scary bunny monsters in yours, too?"

"No, we…" Buttercup began, then shook her head, "Look, let's just forget about it.We can talk about it in the morning.Right now, let's just get back to sleep."

Bubbles sank halfway under the covers and said, "I don't wanna go back to sleep…what if the monsters chase me again?"

"Just remember, it's only a dream, they can't hurt you," Blossom promised.

Bubbles didn't seem too reassured."I'm scared…"

"I know, me too," Blossom admitted, "but we _have_ to get some sleep, or we won't be rested enough to fight crime and stuff tomorrow.That goes for you too, Buttercup."

Buttercup nodded, and tucked herself back under the covers, as did the other girls.However, she couldn't bring herself to close her eyes.The thought of the monster in her dream getting ready to eat her was too frightening._What's wrong with you?_ she thought._It's not real…_Hours passed, and she remained awake, as did the others…

***

The morning sun was up at last.The girls hovered downstairs…their hair was a mess, and their eyes showed fatigue.Buttercup rubbed her head, and groaned, "Ughh…I feel awful…"

"Me too," Bubbles agreed.Her eyes were clenched shut against the light, and she was feeling her way cautiously down the steps.She yawned, "I wish we could stay in bed today…"

Blossom floated past her, her eyes also clenched shut."We can't be late for school," she said."No matter how tired we are, it's something we've got t—…"She broke off suddenly as she smacked face-first into the wall next to the kitchen door, not watching where she was going.

"You okay, Bloss?"Buttercup asked.

Blossom didn't move, but stayed pressed against the wall, too tired to react."Mm mky," she mumbled.

Bubbles made her way into the kitchen and went over to the cupboard.She spotted a box of cereal and took it out, along with a bowl and spoon.She set it down on the table and went to the fridge for some milk.Buttercup finally made it to her own seat.As Bubbles sat down, she picked up the cereal box and started pouring herself a bowl.Buttercup rubbed her eyes for a second, and said, "Uh, Bubbles…"

"What?" she said, setting down the box and pouring the milk over her cereal.Buttercup cringed a little, and glanced over at Blossom, who had just made it into the kitchen and looked equally surprised.

"Bubbles…" Blossom said, "That's…err, that's not…" 

Bubbles scooped a spoonful of cereal up and said, "What are you talking about?"She took a bite…and her eyes flew wide open in surprise.She spit it out…whatever it was, it _wasn't_ cereal."Bleah!Pthh!"

"Eech…Bubbles, I know you're tired too," Buttercup said, "but you really should keep your eyes open."

Confused, Bubbles looked down at the cereal bowl, and suddenly noticed that it _wasn't_ cereal.It was flour, all pasty from the milk she poured on it.Glancing at the "cereal box", she realized it really _was_ a bag of flour after all.She felt embarrassed, and said, "But…but I thought it was…"

"It's okay, Bubbles," Blossom said, hovering over to her chair, "We're all a little tired.I guess mistakes like that are understandab—…"As Blossom tried to sit down, her chair was missing, and she landed on the floor with a *_whump_* instead.Buttercup tried to restrain herself, but couldn't help it, and broke out in laughter.Bubbles giggled at this too.

Although Blossom was momentarily stunned—the chair was there a moment ago, she could have _sworn_ it was—she realized how ridiculous she probably looked right now, and in her tired state, she couldn't help but laugh along with them.

Their laughs eventually died down, as Blossom flew over to where her chair really was, feeling it to make sure it was indeed there.She said, "Heheh…I hope we're not like this all throughout school today, too…"

"Yeah," Buttercup said, "the other kids probably won't let us live it down."She glanced up as she saw Professor Utonium come into the kitchen, and said, "Morning, Professor."

Blossom and Bubbles glanced at each other, and Bubbles turned back to Buttercup saying, "Who are you talking to?"

Buttercup pointed over to where the Professor was, and said, "The prof, who…else…"She suddenly realized he wasn't there.The kitchen was empty except for them.Her jaw dropped a little, and she said, "Wait, but…but I…"

Holding her head tiredly, Blossom sighed, "This is worse than we thought…we gotta make sure we get some sleep tonight, okay?If this keeps up, we won't be in a good enough condition to fight crime."

"Yeah, really," Buttercup said.She took another glimpse of the area where she had seen the professor.Still not there._Wow_, she thought._I guess tired eyes can really play tricks on you_…

***

"…and so, if Billy has four pennies, and Susan gives him five more," Miss Keane said, writing on the board, "then Billy will have nine pennies total…"

The class listened to the math lesson…or most of them were, anyway.The Powerpuff Girls, at their table, were mostly just trying to stay alert.Blossom whispered to the other two, "How are you holding up?"

"So tired…" Bubbles said quietly.

"Yeah…and this math lesson isn't makin' it any easier to stay awake," Buttercup added.

"I know, girls," Blossom nodded, "but we can't let this interfere with our learning, because…"

Miss Keane looked over at their table and asked loudly, "Blossom?"Blossom's head snapped up to attention at the sound of her voice."Do you have something you want to share with the rest of us?"

"No, Miss Keane," Blossom said, hanging her head slightly.

"Well, maybe you'd like to come up and demonstrate this next problem?" Miss Keane asked.

Blossom smiled, and said, "Sure!"Maybe she was tired, but she didn't want to pass up an opportunity like this.She flew up to the front of the class, picking up the chalk from the board and examining the problem._6 + 2_, she thought…_Easy_.Writing an 8 below the problem, she smiled, and looked back out at the class.

The class started to giggle, and for a moment, she didn't understand.Miss Keane gave a comforting smile, and said, "Err, that's not right, Blossom…but it was a good try anyway."

"Not right?But six plus two is…"She looked at the board again, and her hands flew to her mouth.The problem that was written there wasn't 6 + 2, but rather, it was 5 + 5.As the class continued to chuckle at her, she felt herself turning a color not unlike her hairbow, and hurriedly made her way back to her seat.She sat down and covered her head with her arms in embarrassment.

Bubbles and Buttercup were the only ones in the class besides the teacher that wasn't laughing at her.As Miss Keane returned to writing on the chalkboard, Bubbles whispered to Blossom, "It's ok, we understand…"

"Yeah, it's not your fault," Buttercup said.

Blossom, in a soft voice, said, "It was six-plus-two…I _know_ it was…how could I make a mistake like that?It's not possible…"

Bubbles hesitated, then whispered, "I'm scared…what's going on?"

"I don't know," Blossom said, trying to think clearly."It's like we're hallucinating…"

At that moment, the hotline buzzed, from its position on the table across the room.Buttercup frowned, "Well, _that's_ no hallucination!"Blossom nodded in agreement, and flew across the room to answer the phone.

"Yes, Mayor?" she said.After pausing a moment, she said, "We're on it."She hung up, and said, "The bank's being robbed again.Miss Keane, may we be excused?"

"Of course," she said."Hurry back, though."

Blossom said, "Thanks…ok, girls, let's move!"The three of them immediately crashed out of the classroom through the roof.Miss Keane winced slightly, but then casually walked over to the telephone and hit the speed-dial for Marty's Roof Repair…

***

The girls soared over the city of Townsville, heading for the bank.As they headed for their destination, Bubbles asked, "You know, I don't feel as tired anymore.Must be the fresh air.Guess I just needed to wake up…"

"Yeah, me too," Buttercup said."Heh…'fact, I think I'm ready for _anything_ right now."

Blossom warned them, "Don't push yourselves too hard, though.Awake or not, we still didn't get much sleep, so it wouldn't be good to wear yourselves out, okay?"

"Okay, no problem," Buttercup agreed.

They spotted the bank down below."All right," Blossom ordered."Standard plan Beta-Alpha-One.Go!"They descended towards it in a V-formation, with Blossom in the lead, and crashed through the front doors.Landing on the ground, Blossom shouted, "Not so fast, bank ro—…"

They froze…they weren't at the bank, but rather, a fish market. The man behind the counter looked down at them in surprise.For a moment, they just stared at each other, speechless.After a few seconds of complete silence, the man asked, "Er…can I…help you?"

Blossom smiled, slightly, and said, "We're…we're sorry…heh…I think we got the wrong place."She took each of the other girls' hands and flew back out the way they came in, pulling both of them with her.

"What was _that_?" Buttercup said, as they flew up and away from the fish market.

"We all saw it was the bank, right?" Blossom asked."I mean, we _all_ mistook it, didn't we?"

"Well, I was following you," Buttercup admitted, "but…but yeah, I thought that's what it was…"

Bubbles glanced back down at the shop, and said, "I don't even feel tired anymore…why are we still seeing things?"

Down the street, something else grabbed their attention.It was the real bank…the robbers were emerging from the doors, and rushing for their getaway car."There it is!" Buttercup shouted, pointing."Let's get 'em!"

"Ok, but _carefully_," Blossom said."What if we're seeing things again?"

"What if we're not?" Buttercup countered.

Blossom thought about that, and nodded, "Good point.After them!"They flew after the robbers, imposing themselves between them and their getaway car.As usual, the robbers were stunned, but tried to shoot at them anyway, to no effect.When they attacked, Blossom felt grateful in a way that her punches were actually hitting something._It this had turned out to be another illusion_, she thought, _I'd probably think I'd gone crazy…it's kinda good to see that I'm not_…

The robbers were dispatched with no problem.They heard the police sirens approaching, and left them to be captured.Flying back on course for the school, Buttercup said, "Ok, let's go over this again.We were all awake, right?And all of use didn't feel as tired as before, right?"The other girls nodded, and she continued, "So then how come all _three_ of us saw the same thing?"

"We coulda all mistook it…I guess…" Bubbles said hopefully.

"Maybe," Blossom said, "but if this keeps up, we gotta stop trying to find a way to explain it off, and find out what the _real_ reason is.The first thing we're doing when we get home from school is to have the professor examine us for anything that might be wrong, all right?"

"Fine," Buttercup replied."Whatever it takes.I don't think I like hallucinating…I like to trust my eyes, you know what I mean?"Blossom nodded, and the three of them veered off from the city, curving down to head for Pokey Oaks once again.

***

In his lab, the professor shined the light into Bubbles' eyes from an angle as he said, "All right, sweetie…now, count the number of black lines you see on the board across from you."

"Four," Bubbles answered.

The professor nodded…there were indeed four lines on the board.He sat back up, as the other girls looked concerned, and Blossom asked, "So is there something wrong with us?"

"I tried every test I knew," the professor said, "and I can't make heads or tails of it.There's absolutely nothing wrong with you girls.And these hallucinations you've apparently been having seem to have gone away, so if there _was_ something wrong, it's probably gone away now."

"We were just really tired this morning," Buttercup pointed out."Could that be the problem?

"Perhaps…you _are_ still showing signs of fatigue," the professor said."I recommend getting a good night's sleep, all three of you.It's almost 7:30 now; I think you should turn in early today."

Blossom smiled, "Fine by us.Right?"

"I guess so," Buttercup said.Bubbles nodded her approval.

"All right, girls, off to bed, then," the professor said, putting his equipment away from the tests he ran.The girls flew up and out of the lab, and the professor smiled, saying to himself, "They'll be just fine…"

***

Blossom and the other girls had barely been asleep for an hour, when they awoke, as the hotline in their room buzzed._Oh, rats, _Blossom thought._I was really hoping on getting some rest first._She immediately flew out of bed and picked it up, "Hello, Mayor?"

"Powerpuff Girls!" came the Mayor's unmistakably panicked voice, "A giant monster's attacking Townsville!We need your help!"

"We'll be right there!" Blossom promised, hanging up the phone.She turned to the other girls and said, "Giant monster downtown, let's hurry!"The three of them changed back into their normal outfits in a flash, and flew out through the windows, heading for Townsville in the distance.

It was already visible over the city skyline.A hideous, fleshy creature with eyes and mouths scattered across it seemingly at random.Large tentacles were smashing into buildings as it moved around.There was an awful odor hanging in the air, like rotting leaves.Blossom said, "All right…it's covered with eyes, so we can't sneak up on it.Eyebeams!"

The three of them circled around it and fired their eyebeams together.The creature, though, raised its tentacles up, and deflected the beams harmlessly away from itself.Unfortunately, the beams' new direction caused it to slice through the sides of a few small buildings in Townsville.Blossom cringed, and said, "Ok, bad idea…no more eyebeams!Just try to hit it with something…"

Buttercup shouted, "Right!" and flew down, uprooting a tree and heading towards it, ready to swing the tree like a baseball bat.In mid-swing, though, a tentacle lashed out, grabbing it and yanking it away.It was immediately followed by another tentacle that smacked into Buttercup, knocking her down into the ground with tremendous force.Blossom started to fly down to help her out, when she saw the thing toss the tree away…it impacted into a gas station, which exploded in a massive fireball.

Bubbles, from the air above, shouted, "Nothing's working!Blossom, we need a better plan!"

"I know, I'm thinking!" Blossom said.As she helped Buttercup out of the crater in the ground, she called out, "Bubbles…grab that power line, and try to electrocute him with it!"

"Got it!" Bubbles said without question.She flew down and pulled up one of the poles supporting the power lines.The lines snapped away, and immediately, nearly half of the city's power went out.Blossom thought to herself, _Eeep…that must have been a key power line…_

Bubbles flew towards the monster and swung the pole, the cables sparking with electricity.As it connected, the electricity surrounded the monster, and it twitched uncontrollably, as the extremely high voltage ran through its system.As it did, though, the monster slowly started to grow larger…

"Oh no!Bubbles, stop, quickly!You're just feeding it!" Blossom said, quickly.Bubbles followed orders immediately and pulled the line away…she wasn't careful enough, though, and the lines snapped back right into her by accident.The force from the electrocution knocked her out of the sky, and the lines fell into the park below…they sparked against the trees, and a huge fire started to burn._This is a disaster, _Blossom thought._Why aren't any of my plans working?!_

Buttercup looked at her and said, "What now?Hurry, think of something!"

"I…I…" Blossom stammered.She finally said, "Buttercup, just try attacking it by hand…give it everything you've got!"Buttercup nodded and flew at the creature, dodging her way around the tentacles and dashing towards the main body, rearing back to throw a punch.

She didn't get the chance, though, for at that moment, one of the many mouths across its surface suddenly reached out from the body with a huge set of teeth.It took her by surprise, and she didn't have the chance to dodge.The teeth clamped down half-way around her…only her legs were visible, which started kicking and thrashing wildly in an attempt to get free…but only for a moment, before they tensed up, and fell limp.

Blossom gasped in alarm, and was about to fly in to try and help her free, but in another quick snap of the teeth, the monster swallowed the rest of her."Buttercup!!_No!!!_"Blossom cried out._Oh no…she can't be dead…please, no…_

Bubbles was staring in shock as well, and shaking with fear, "Wh…wh-what are we g-gonna do?!"

Blossom couldn't stand it…she couldn't bear the thought of Bubbles getting killed by the monster over one of her orders as well."Bubbles," she said, trying to keep the panic out of her voice, "you'd better get out of here…I'll take care of this thing myself, I don't want to lose you, too…"

"But…" Bubbles began.

"_Just go!_" she ordered.Bubbles swallowed once, and nodded, turning and starting to fly away.As she gained some distance from it, Blossom suddenly noticed something lancing out from one of the creature's mouths…a long, pink tongue, almost like a frog's tongue…it was shooting towards Bubbles with incredible speed.She was in the middle of retreating, though, so her back was turned and she didn't see it coming."Bubbles, look out!!"

Too late…the tongue struck Bubbles in the back, sticking to her.She yelped in surprise, and then was abruptly yanked out of the air.She screamed as the tongue pulled her back towards the creature's mouth almost as fast as it had shot out in the first place.Blossom started flying towards the tongue to stop it, but she could see the awful truth: it was retracting far too quickly…she'd never make it in time."Bubbles!!" she yelled out desperately.

"_Blossom!!_" Bubbles shrieked, her tears leaving a trail in the air in front of her, "_Help me!!!HELP M--…_"Her cries were cut off as she was pulled into the mouth, and it snapped shut instantly.Blossom stared in horror, watching for some sign that she was okay…but none came…

_Oh no…oh god no…please, not both of them…not like this!Not on my orders!It's all my fault…if I hadn't given those orders, they'd still be alive…it's all my fault!!_As these thoughts clamored in her mind, she hovered motionless, unable to move, watching the thing continue its rampage._I can't stop it…everything I've tried just makes it worse…I can't do it…I can't do it anymore!!_

***

Blossom's eyes opened suddenly.She took in a deep, sharp breath of air.Her eyes darted about, and she thought, _How did I get back here?What am I doing in bed?What about the monster?!_She suddenly saw something that she didn't expect…two other forms sleeping soundly next to her.Bubbles and Buttercup.

For a few moments, she wondered how it was possible that they were still alive…and then she figured it out.She had been dreaming again._But…that's impossible!I was so sure it happened!Everything…the feel of the heat from the fire, the smell of the monster's stench in the air…it was all so intense!Not like a dream at all!Not at all!_

Yet, faced with the facts, she knew it had to have been a dream.She felt a great surge of relief that the girls were alive, especially after she was so convinced that they were dead.But then it left her with a horrible sense of anxiety…what did it mean?The thought crossed her mind that maybe the dream was trying to tell her something._Every choice I made lead to another failure…what if something like that _really _happens?What if one day, I make all the wrong decisions, and I end up leading us and the whole city of Townsville into ruin?_

She didn't want to think about it anymore, but she just couldn't help it.Lying back down, she clutched the covers and shook uncontrollably, her eyes clenched shut as she desperately attempted to forget what just happened.She finally flipped over and buried her face into her pillow, crying.

_Hallucinations…terrible nightmares…my god, what's happening to us…?_

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	2. Chapter 2

Phantasmal Truths -- Chapter 2

**_Phantasmal Truths_**

By:Mark J. Hadley

**CHAPTER 2**

_ _

Bubbles and Buttercup made their way quietly down the steps leading into the professor's lab.It was still night; the whole house was dark."We're gonna get in trouble," Bubbles said.

"No we're not," Buttercup insisted."We'll be really quiet."

Bubbles nodded, and glanced back upstairs for a moment to make sure no one was following."Why are we coming down here, anyway?" she asked.

Buttercup hesitated for a moment, and said, "I don't really know…I just felt like there's something we needed to see down here…"

"Yeah," Bubbles said, "you're right…I kind of feel it too…"As they got amongst the tables, they started looking around, still not even sure of what they were looking for.They went through piles of scientific equipment, beakers and test tubes, stacks of books and papers, in search of _something_…

"Nothing yet," Buttercup muttered._Maybe we should just forget about it,_ Buttercup thought._It's just a feeling, after all.It's probably nothing…_

"Hey!" Bubbles said, not too loudly, but loud enough for Buttercup to hear."I think I found something!"Buttercup flew over to take a look at what she found: a box containing a set of cassette tapes, and a small cassette recorder.The tapes were labeled, "Perfect Girl Project", and were numbered and dated.Many of the dates on the tapes preceded their creation.

Buttercup smiled, "I think this is it.Wow…I never knew the prof was keeping a journal like this."

Lifting one of the tapes up, Bubbles examined the date and said, "Hey, I think this is the one from right after we were born!Let's listen to it…"Buttercup nodded, and they loaded the tape into the recorder, pressing the 'play' button.

The professor's voice came from the recorder…Buttercup quickly turned the volume down so that they wouldn't wake anyone else in the house up."A major success last night.I believed that I had completed the final calculations on the Perfect Girl recipe, as detailed in the previous tape.I had decided to try preparing the formula, when during the mixing procedure, an accident occurred…my memories of the event are a little sketchy, because I was overwhelmed with the results.I had apparently smashed the beaker containing Chemical X, which poured into the Perfect Girl mix, and had an unstable reaction…"

They listened as the professor's voice continued, "It had worked!But not as I had expected, exactly.For one thing, the Chemical X had enhanced the Perfect Girl recipe, adding superpowers to it…a most unusual addition, indeed.But even more stunning was the split.Instead of one Perfect Girl, as I had intended, there were three…"

Bubbles seemed confused, "Wait, but…I thought the recipe was _supposed_ to make three…"

"Yeah, me too," Buttercup said."I mean, that's how he planned it, didn't he?"

They continued to listen, more intrigued now, as the professor's voice spoke, "This was a most stunning turn of events.How were _three_ created, when there were only enough in the recipe for _one_?Perhaps it was due to the Chemical X.Perhaps I miscalculated.I just didn't have the answers yet.I will, though.I have written out a test plan, and will carry it out over the next few weeks.A month from now I should have the results I'm looking for."The tape came to a stop.

Quickly, without missing a beat, they popped the tape back out and searched for the one matching that next month's date.Finding it, they put it into the recorder and started playing it."What did he mean, he 'miscalculated'?" Bubbles asked.Buttercup held her hand up for Bubbles to be quiet, as the next tape was going to start.Bubbles thought, _I thought this'd make it easier to understand, but I'm just more confused now…_

The professor's voice came on again, "I concluded my tests.I can see it in everything about the girls…their personalities, their mannerisms…it was definitely a split, and I believe this is what happened.Blossom, as we have named her, is without doubt the desired end product, the Perfect Girl.However, something happened, and I believe it was just part of the formula's reaction to ensure her perfection.Several of the more 'undesirable' traits were expunged from her system during creation, leaving her only the good qualities that one would expect in a Perfect Girl.She's intelligent, outgoing, resourceful, helpful, and very sweet and polite.The _expunged_ elements, however, manifested themselves into two completely separate beings, likely due to the Chemical X."

Bubbles looked shocked, "What does he mean?"

"I don't know," Buttercup said, "Shhh…."

They listened as the tape continued, "As I said, I could see it in them easily.The one we named Bubbles seems very repressed…a little shy, uncertain, and without any real strength of presence.Maybe eventually she could grow out of it, but I sincerely doubt it.And the one we named Buttercup has an uncanny fierceness in her.She's rough, defiant, and seldom tries to be serious.Not at all in fitting with being a Perfect Girl."

Both of the girls stared at the tape, speechless. The professor's voice still spoke, "Oh, they try to be helpful, but the fact remains that they're still just by-products of the formula.Merely unplanned side effects.At least I should be glad that _one_ of them was still 'perfect'.I suppose I'll tell them someday, when I think they're ready."

Buttercup reached down with a trembling hand and hit the stop button on the tape.She suddenly felt very ill, and from the looks of it, so did Bubbles.They stared at each other silently for a few seconds.Bubbles finally said, "We're…we're just…"

"Waste," Buttercup said."We're…just garbage…never meant to be…"

"But…" Bubbles began, and trailed off, looking _very_ sick now.She thought, _Why?We're good…we try to be good!We're not perfect, but…but this?No…it can't be…_

Buttercup herself started to feel dizzy…the room seemed to be spinning around her, and she thought, _It's worthless…my whole life…it's all worthless…and Blossom!She's 'perfect', thanks to us…we were made just to make her better, nothing more…_She clutched her stomach and doubled over as it all sank in…

***

When Buttercup opened her eyes, though, she was no longer in the lab, but she was sitting on her bed.She blinked a few times in confusion…_How did I get back up here?_ she thought.Glancing over, she saw Bubbles on the other side of the bed, also sitting up, looking just as disoriented as she felt.Bubbles slowly looked back at her, their gazes meeting.

Buttercup suddenly realized that it must have just been a dream.Or had it?"Bubbles," she whispered."Did we…did we go down into the lab together, you and I?"

Looking pale, Bubbles nodded, "I think so…I…I thought it was just a dream…but…"

The details of what they had just learned were still fresh in Buttercup's mind.She still felt sick, and she tried to find an explanation, "Maybe we just had the same dream, you and I…I mean, we've shared dreams before…"

"I hope so," Bubbles said softly.She glanced at the spot in the bed between them, where Blossom was sleeping.Her pillow was wet with tears, "Look…Blossom's been crying…"

Buttercup said, "Hey, you're right."Blossom…hearing the name stirred something within her.She had felt anger towards her in the past over one thing or another, and sometimes a little jealousy as well, but for the first time, she felt a twinge of true resentment.She shook herself out of it, though, and thought, _No, it was just a dream, that's all.It wasn't real._

"Should we wake her up?You know, to find out what's wrong?" Bubbles asked.

Buttercup shook her head, "No, we can find out in the morning.Lets just try to get back to sleep."The two of them laid back down again, but instead of going to sleep, they both just stared up at the ceiling.After a minute or two of this, Buttercup whispered, "Hey, Bubbles…maybe…maybe we should ask the professor about…you know…"

"Maybe," Bubbles whispered back."I don't think I wanna know.But I _gotta_ know."There was another long pause, and Bubbles asked, "Do you think if we fall asleep again, we'll have more bad dreams?"

"I hope not…" Buttercup answered, trying to close her eyes.She just wanted the night to end…

***

They woke up the next morning.Apparently they managed to get a little more sleep, because they didn't feel quite as tired as the day before.The three of them made a beeline for the kitchen, and Bubbles asked, "Blossom, did you have any nightmares last night?"

"Yes," Blossom said, taking a seat at the kitchen table."I…don't really want to talk about it though."She looked up at her, and said, "Why, did you have a nightmare?"

Bubbles nodded, "Me and Buttercup both did.It felt real again, like the last time."

"Mine too," Blossom said."Nothing's wrong with us, I hope…I don't want to keep having bad dreams every _night_."

Buttercup said, "Yeah, me either.Hey, Bubbles…hurry up with breakfast.And make sure, it's _cereal_ this time, 'k?"

Going over to the cupboard, she pulled a box out, and felt it carefully.It _felt_ like a box, so it wasn't a bag of flour like before.The label confirmed that it was cereal.Still, she decided to double-check it.She held the box out and said, "This is cereal, right?"

Blossom nodded, "Looks fine to me."

"Me too," Buttercup agreed.

Bubbles smiled, and flew back over to the table.She put her bowl out in front of her and tipped the box towards it to pour it out.For a moment, her mind almost didn't register that something was wrong…the cereal that was coming out wasn't the right color; it was black.Then her eyes caught movement, and she realized what it was.It wasn't cereal that was pouring out from the box, but dozens of huge, black spiders.Each one was just over an inch wide, with thick, hairy legs…and they were alive, and crawling…

She dropped the box with a shriek, and flew backwards away from the table, stopping against the wall, her hands flying up to cover her mouth in shock.The spiders were crawling up over the edge of the bowl and dropping down on the table, and _more_ spiders were crawling out of the box she had just dropped.

Concerned, Buttercup said, "Bubbles?What's wrong?"

Bubbles was breathing quickly and couldn't talk for a moment, but she finally pulled a hand away from her mouth and pointed a shaky hand at the table, "S-sp-spiders…!"

Blossom looked at her with surprise, then peered down into the bowl, which still had spiders crawling out from it.She seemed completely unfazed and said, "What are you talking about?It looks okay to me…"

"But…" Bubbles said.She rubbed her eyes, and looked at the table again.Amazingly, the spiders were all gone.The bowl just contained cereal, and the box had cereal spilling out of it where she had dropped it."But…but…"

"Easy, Bubbles," Blossom said, trying to calm her down."Were you hallucinating again?"

Bubbles edged uneasily back towards the table, and said, "It was…it was there…there's no _way_ I coulda been wrong…they were crawling around and everything…they were _there_, I _know_ it!"

"Well, if they _were_, they're not there _now_," Buttercup said.

Gingerly taking her seat again, Bubbles sat and just stared at her bowl of cereal.Blossom picked up the box from where Bubbles dropped it, and poured herself a bowl, saying, "Look, I'll eat right now and show you that it's all right."As Bubbles watched, she ate the whole contents of the bowl, without anything bad happening.

"Ok, I…guess it's safe…" Bubbles agreed.

Buttercup had finally poured her own cereal and was eating, "Yeah, c'mon.It's fine, see?"

Blossom got up and said, "I'm going upstairs to get ready for school.Make sure you eat, Bubbles…we have to keep our strength up, you know."With that, she flew out from the room, heading upstairs.

Bubbles looked down at her bowl, and cautiously picked a piece of cereal up, holding it up in front of her and examining it closely._It looks normal enough,_ she thought.As she watched it, however, it suddenly sprouted several small, wriggling legs.Almost like someone that had been electrocuted, Bubbles yelped and instinctively tossed it away.

It landed on the table, but it no longer had the legs; it was a normal piece of cereal again.Buttercup gave a questioning glance at Bubbles, who turned and flew over to a bowl of fruit on the counter, and said with a nervous giggle, "Heh…think I'll just have an apple…"

***

Upstairs, Blossom was brushing her teeth, and looking at herself in the mirror at the same time.It looked like dark circles were forming under her eyes, from the little amounts of sleep they had gotten in the past two nights._If this keeps up_, she thought, _we're going to look just as bad as we feel._She rinsed off her toothbrush, and cupped her hands under the cool water.As she did this, she couldn't help but think back on her last nightmare.

_It was awful_, she thought._Why would I ever dream something like that?Maybe, somewhere deep in my mind, I really _don't_ think I'm a good leader…no, I'm good, I really am…but I can always get better.Yes, that's it…I'll work on improving my planning skills.That way, a situation like in that dream will never happen to the other girls, nor to Townsville…but then, if I _wasn't_ the leader, I wouldn't have to worry about their blood being on my hands anymore…_

Closing her eyes, she leaned down and splashed some of the cool water onto her face.That made her feel better, but only for a moment, because she felt an odd sensation…a stickiness, across her face and hands.Confused, she opened her eyes, looking at her cupped hands in front of her.They weren't wet with water, but soaked in a bright red color.Her eyes flew up to the mirror…her whole face was dripping with the same red…

…sticky…red…

Blossom screamed, falling back from the sink and landing on the ground.She frantically wiped her face, her mind screaming, _Oh god get it off get it off!!_The professor appeared at the door…he had heard the scream, and ran over to see what was wrong, "Blossom?"

Looking up through her tears, Blossom was about to say something, when she noticed the professor's expression.It wasn't horrified, but rather just concerned.She stopped wiping her face, and slowly looked down at her hands again.The red was gone…her hands were a little wet with water, but there was no sign of anything else.She traced her hand once across her cheek and looked at it again.Still nothing, no indication of what she had seen at all.

The professor repeated, "Blossom?Are you okay?"

Blossom got back to her feet unsteadily, and said, "I'm…I'm fine…"In reality, that was far from the truth._What's going on?!_ she thought._That couldn't have been just my imagination!I felt it!_

"Are you sure?" the professor asked.

"I'm _fine!_" Blossom said, a little more fiercely than she intended.Seeing the hurt look on the professor's face, she quickly added, more softly, "I'm sorry…I just…I just want to be alone for a minute, okay?" Still looking worried, he left the bathroom nonetheless, closing the door behind him.Blossom looked at herself in the mirror again.She was trembling._Sleep isn't the only thing I'm losing, _Blossom thought…_I feel like my sanity's on the way, too…_

***

As they flew off towards the school, high in the sky, Buttercup looked at the other girls.They both look seriously disturbed, and Buttercup couldn't help but wonder if something similar was going to happen to _her_ as well.She kept her eyes open, watching for any sign of trouble._Nothin's sneakin' up on me, not even a hallucination…_

"Are you sure we're okay for school?" Bubbles said apprehensively."I just wanna stay home…"

Blossom shook her head, "No, Bubbles…whatever's going on, we _can't_ let it interfere with our normal routine.We need to see this thing through."

"I don't know…what do you think, Buttercup?" Bubbles asked.

"I'd be happy if we could all just stay home 'till this all blows over," Buttercup replied, "but I'm no sissy…Bloss is right; we can _beat_ this, whatever it is.We just gotta be strong and…"

All of a sudden, the air in front of her seemed to pitch forward.Buttercup blinked in confusion, and then realized that her flying had just cut out on her.She flailed her arms for a moment and shouted, "What the…!"She suddenly felt herself falling…the ground, a few hundred feet below, was rushing up towards her fast.

"Aaaugh!_Help!_" Buttercup cried out in panic._Where are the other girls?_ she thought…_Why aren't they trying to catch me?_She watched the ground grow nearer._Oh no…what if it's not just my flying?What if _none_ of my powers are working?What if I'm not super-tough anymore?!If I hit the ground…n-no!!_She gave a loud scream, and clenched her eyes shut moments before impact…

The impact never came, though.Shaking, she opened one eye, and saw that she was still flying forward through the air, still hundreds of feet up, not right next to the ground like she was expecting.Hovering to a stop, the other girls appeared next to her, and Bubbles asked, "Are you all right?!"

Buttercup panted, and held a hand to her chest, trying to calm down, "What…just happened…?"

"You just suddenly took off," Blossom said."Straight forward.You looked like you were out of control…"

"You mean I _wasn't_ falling?" Buttercup asked.They both shook their heads, and she said, "Geez…geez, that wasn't just a hallucination…I…I felt it…it felt like my powers were all gone…and…it looked like I was falling from the sky…"

"It's okay," Bubbles said with an unsteady voice, trying to be reassuring, although she wasn't doing a very good job at it.

The three of them closed together and held each other in a comforting embrace.There were a few seconds of silence before Buttercup, the confidence completely gone from her voice, admitted, "I'm scared…"The other girls could only nod.They knew they _had_ to find out what was happening to them now…it was getting really bad, and if it kept up, they wouldn't be able to function anymore…

***

At Pokey Oaks Kindergarten, before class started, Bubbles asked to talk to Miss Keane alone for a moment, so that she could explain what was going on.They went into a different room, and Miss Keane said, "Yes, Bubbles, what is it?"

"Well…I wanted to warn you," Bubbles said."If we act kinda weird, it's 'cause we're going through something right now…"

"Going through something?Like what?" Miss Keane asked, concerned.

"We've been…having some really bad dreams at night," Bubbles told her."And…and we've been seeing things during the day…"

Miss Keane looked sad, "Ohh, that's awful…why is it happening?"

"We don't know!" Bubbles said, trying to hold her tears back."And it keeps getting worse…"

Falling silent, Miss Keane stared for a few moments, and then in a soft voice, whispered, "It's my fault…"

Bubbles was puzzled, "What?"

Miss Keane stood up from her chair and walked over to the window, staring outside, tearfully."I pushed you girls too hard…I should have realized that with all the monsters and villains you fight daily, you wouldn't have the time to study at school…that's just too much stress for you…"

"No it isn't…we _like_ school," Bubbles insisted.

"Yes, but it's _still_ too much for girls your age," Miss Keane said."It's…it's all my fault…all I wanted is for you to learn and grow, but I never thought it would affect you this way…now you're probably going to be psychologically scarred for life…"She buried her face in her hands, crying, "I can't…forgive myself…for doing that to you…"

It tore at something deep inside of Bubbles to see Miss Keane crying like this.She flew over and put a hand on her shoulder, saying, "It's not your fault, we don't know _why_ it's…"

"No!" Miss Keane shouted, pushing Bubbles' arm off of her, and turning to run out of the room, crying, "I can't live with myself!I just can't bear it!!"She disappeared into the hallway.

Bubbles thought, _Oh no…what did I do?Where's she going?_She quickly flew out of the room and looked around.She wasn't anywhere in the hallway.As she hovered past a few of the doors, she called out, "Miss Keane?Where are you?"There was no answer, and she kept looking…

All of a sudden, from one of the rooms near her, she heard a loud sound…like a gunshot.Bubbles gasped, and rushed to the door, opening it."Miss Keane?Are you all ri—…"Her heart leapt into her throat at what she saw in the room.A desk, with one of the drawers open on it…a small revolver…and Miss Keane…

Bubbles almost couldn't see it clearly through her tears, and she didn't really _want_ to, anyway…yet, she couldn't take her eyes off the gruesome scene._Oh my god,_ Bubbles thought…_oh my god…oh my god…_

Buttercup suddenly flew next to her from the hallway, and asked, "What was that noise…" and gasped when she saw what Bubbles was looking at."Miss Keane!!What…what happened?!"

"I-I was…" Bubbles stammered, "…I w-was only…"

"Bubbles, what did you _do?!_" Buttercup yelled."_You_ did this?!"

"No!I mean…" Bubbles tried to explain, but she couldn't…because she knew that it really _was_ her fault._It was an accident!_ she thought._If I hadn't said anything…ohhh…no, please…I didn't mean it, I swear!_

"You…killed her!" Buttercup said, her rage building…all of a sudden, she pulled a fist back in anger and shouted,"_YOU KILLED HER!!_", swinging it directly at Bubbles…

*_WH--_

***

_--AM_*

Bubbles lifted her head with a start, as the book slammed onto the table in front of her.She looked up, disoriented…and in complete shock, saw Miss Keane standing in front of her, having obviously just dropped the book that had hit the table."Bubbles," she said, "Glad you could join us.Now, class, let's go over that last problem one more time…"

Overjoyed, Bubbles abruptly flew out of her chair and right into Miss Keane, hugging her tightly.This sudden action surprised her, as well as the rest of the class.Bubbles, tears pouring down her face, started crying, "OhmygodI'msosorryMissKeaneIdidn'tmeanitI'msosorryI'msosorry," repeating it over and over.

"Bubbles?" Miss Keane said, not quite understanding what was going on.Bubbles gradually calmed down, and looked up at her.She blinked her eyes a few times to clear the tears out, and Miss Keane continued, "It's all right, you don't have to apologize _that_ much for falling asleep in class…"

_I…fell asleep?_ Bubbles thought.Relief washed over her as she realized she had been dreaming again.A little more composed, but in still somewhat of a shaky voice, she said, "I'm sorry…I'll…I'll go back to my seat now…"She released Miss Keane from the hug, and floated back to her seat slowly.

Miss Keane furrowed her brow with concern, and said, "Is there something I should know?"

Blossom said, "Well, yes…you see, we…"

"NO!" Bubbles shouted, quickly reaching over to cover Blossom's mouth with her hands.She quickly explained, "We're fine…really…I just…I'm sorry, I won't fall asleep again, I promise…"

Miss Keane _knew_ that something was wrong, but she didn't want to press her any further right now.Instead, she just nodded, and said, "Ok…well…as I was saying, class, that last problem is a little difficult, but…"

Meanwhile, at the Powerpuff Girls' desk, Buttercup whispered to Bubbles, "What happened?Did you have another nightmare?"

Bubbles nodded, "Yes!It was awful…"She buried her head into her arms, and whined softly, "I can't take it anymore…I want it to stop…"She thought, _It just keeps getting worse and worse…when's it gonna end?Is it gonna end at all?Oh please…don't let it get any worse…please…_

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	3. Chapter 3

Phantasmal Truths

**_Phantasmal Truths_**

By:Mark J. Hadley

**CHAPTER 3**

The girls flew across the sky on their way back from school.Blossom was between the other two, holding each of their hands tightly, and reminded them, "Ok…if anything happens, don't let go until we're sure it's not just an illusion…and as long as we're like this, we know we aren't dreaming, either…"

"Right," Buttercup said."Let's just get home…I don't want to be out here anymore…"

Bubbles nodded, but a moment later, she spotted something below."That's strange…"

"What?" Blossom asked.

Bubbles pointed it out.At the edge of the city, there was a long trail of slime leading into it.Alongside of the trail, buildings had taken damage, like something big had passed by that way.They descended to take a better look.Blossom still wouldn't let go of their hands, so Buttercup reached down and scooped her hand through some of the slime, holding it up."Eech…It's real, all right."

"Are you _sure?_" Blossom demanded, and Buttercup answered by flicking a little bit of the slime at her face.Blossom shook it off, "Glaah…all right, all right!So let's follow the trail, before whatever it is does any more damage!"

Bubbles looked worried, "Do we have to?"

"Yes, Bubbles," Blossom answered."We can't just give up our lives as superheroes because of this!Think of what would happen to Townsville!"

"Well…all right…" Bubbles said, reluctantly.

All three of them flew back into the air and began to follow the trail.It lead deeper into the city, and they finally came upon the creature.It was a giant, greenish slug-like thing.People backed away from it as it slid rather quickly down the side of the road.With shock, Blossom realized that it was heading right for a group of people on the sidewalk, who looked very much afraid.

"Eyebeams, quick!" Blossom ordered.The girls attacked with their eyebeams, striking the slug from behind.It growled, and half-swiveled around to look at them, coming to a stop.As the girls approached, it started spitting globs of slime towards them, but they easily avoided it.Blossom added, "Beta-Gamma-3, now!"

Buttercup and Bubbles broke off and dove low to the street, flying underneath the slug and lifting it up.They both tossed it up into the air to where Blossom was waiting, and she punched it strongly on the side.The impact sent it flying down the street, where it slid across the pavement and finally came to rest against the side of a building.

Blossom halfway towards it, and saw that it wasn't moving anymore.She turned back to the other girls and said, "Great job!I think it's…"

"Bloss, look out!" Buttercup shouted.Blossom looked back over her shoulder and saw that the slug's eyes were open, and it was spitting globs of slime at them again.She couldn't dodge it in time, and cringed, waiting for the impact from it.However, nothing came.She opened her eyes in confusion, and saw that the glob that was spit at her missed her entirely.

Bubbles smiled, "He's a bad shot, isn't he?"

Blossom was thinking, though."Wait a second…"She flew a few feet closer to the slug and stood perfectly still.It continued to spit slime at her, but even at this close range, it was missing horribly.On the next spit, she flew directly into the path of the oncoming glob, and it strangely changed directions to miss her.

When she saw what was happening, Buttercup said, "What the…"Her eyes drifted back towards the slug, and her hands flew to her mouth in alarm, "_Bloss!!_"

"What?" Blossom said, looking back at the slug…and her mouth dropped open.Bubbles flew up from the street, and she looked equally shocked at what they saw.

The slug was no longer there.Instead, they saw a bus…it was smashed up against the side of the building, with a huge dent in the side where Blossom had punched it, and the back end of it was blasted open.It had caught on fire, and there was broken glass everywhere.Several people looked like they had managed to crawl from the wreckage, but more people were trapped inside, waving their arms frantically to get free.

"Oh…m-my…" Bubbles said, her voice barely a whisper.

"But…" Buttercup said, "…but…we all saw it!"

Blossom couldn't believe what she was seeing, and said, "What have we done…?"

The people on the sidewalks were looking up at the Powerpuff Girls, completely speechless.Blossom suddenly realized that they had to do something to help the people in the bus…she flew over and tore the side of the bus open to free them.Bubbles and Buttercup joined her in the effort.Several people inside started to crawl out, but they had to help out a few that were injured.

As they were setting them down on the streets, a bystander said, "Powerpuff Girls?How could you _do_ that?"

Bubbles tried to explain, "We didn't…we didn't _mean_ to…"

They heard the sound of ambulances and fire trucks coming down the street.Blossom was suddenly afraid of facing them…she told the man, "We have to go…please, _please_ tell them it was just an accident!I promise we'll explain everything later!"The man looked unsure, but he had always trusted the Powerpuff Girls in the past, so he nodded anyway.

The girls flew up together from the street, heading back in the direction of home.All three of them were badly shaken up."Blossom, wh-what _was_ that?" Buttercup shouted."I just…I can't believe…"

"We all saw the same thing…" Blossom said, trying to hold tears back."Like at the bank, before…"

"How the heck are we going to fight _crime_ and stuff anymore," Buttercup demanded, "if we're not even sure that it's _real?!_"

"I'm scared…" Bubbles whined softly, "…I'm s-so scared…wh-what are we gonna do?"

"We're going to get to the bottom of this!" Blossom insisted."I _swear_ we will!Right now, l-let's just get home…I'm sure the professor c-can do _something_ to help us…"As they flew along, Blossom thought, _I hope he can…_

***

The door to the Utonium household opened, and the Powerpuff Girls poked their heads through the doorway.They peered around cautiously, and edged their way into the room."Professor?" Bubbles called out.

Professor Utonium peeked out from the kitchen, "Oh, hello, girls…how was school today?"

All three of them flew over to him, hugging him."Oh, Professor…" Blossom cried."I-it's getting worse…"

"Oh dear," he said."You're still having hallucinations?"

Bubbles looked up at him, tears rolling down her face and said, "Yes!Please, c-can't you do something to make it g-go away?"

"I don't know…" the professor said."I have no idea what's causing it.I'm at a complete loss to explain it…"

Blossom closed her eyes, and said, "I'm…Professor, I'm going upstairs, to lie down and try to sort this all out…Bubbles, Buttercup, one of you _please_ come up in a few minutes to check on me?Wake me up if I accidentally fall asleep…I don't want to have another nightmare…"

"Sure, Blossom, I promise," Buttercup told her.Blossom nodded and let go of the professor, flying upstairs.As she left, Buttercup turned back to the professor and said, "We've been having nightmares still, too…"

"Just remind yourself that they're not real," the professor said."They're just dreams; they can't hurt you."

Buttercup nodded…as she did, Bubbles said, "Professor…I have a question…"

The professor looked at her, "What is it, sweetie?"

"Um, well…" Her gaze drifted down to the floor, "When you made us…you were really trying to make three of us, right?"

"Bubbles!" Buttercup said."I don't think this is the time to ask him that…"

"But I wanna know…you were, right?" Bubbles asked.

The professor hesitated.He said, "Uh…well…originally, no…but…"

"What?" Buttercup said, shocked to hear this as much as Bubbles was.A cold feeling begin to swell in the pit of her stomach as she asked, "You mean…you really _were_ just trying to make _one_ 'perfect girl'?"

The professor told them, "That's…true, yes…the original formula _was_ only supposed to make one…why are you ask—…"He broke off, as he saw the expression on Buttercup's face.She hovered back a few feet, and glanced over at Bubbles, who was looking at her with the same expression._My god, it's true,_ she thought…_Our dream was true…_

"No…" Bubbles whispered."You didn't…mean to make…us?"

The professor's eyes widened and he said, "No, I-I didn't mean it like th—…"

Bubbles broke down…she started crying, and flew out of the room, right out of the front door.Buttercup still hovered there, staring at the professor like he was a completely different person."Why didn't you tell us…" she managed to say.

"Pumpkin, I…" the professor started.

"_WHY?!_Why did you just wait for us to _dream_ about it?Why couldn't you just _tell_ us?!" she demanded, but didn't wait for an answer…instead, she angrily turned and flew out from the house the same way that Bubbles had left.

The professor was alarmed._Oh no…what did I say?_ he thought._Did they have a dream about it?I'd better try to find them and explain the situation…it's not as bad as it sounds, girls, there's a good reason for what I said…_He scooped his car keys up off a table near the door and rushed out of the house to go search for them…

***

Blossom was lying down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.She had been trying to piece this all together, but nothing was coming._Maybe we're just losing our minds_, she thought._But all three of us?Or maybe it's something in our powers…I just don't know…_

The sound of the hotline buzzing snapped her out of her thoughts.She flew over and answered it, "Hello, Mayor?"

The Mayor's voice at the other end spoke, "Powerpuff Girls!We have a big problem here…get down to City Hall immediately!"

"We're on our way, Mayor…" Blossom answered.She hung up the phone, and stared at it, lost deep in thought._How are we going to help?Whatever the problem is, if we're hampered by these illusions while we're trying to stop it, we won't be much good…but if we don't even try, Townsville could be doomed.No, we've got to go!_

She flew out of the room and downstairs, calling out, "Bubbles!Buttercup!Emergency…we need to get downtown!"She was momentarily confused when she didn't receive a reply.She tried again, "Bubbles?Buttercup?Anyone?"She realized that there was no one else in the house…

_Where did they go?_ she thought._No, no time…I'd better go alone…_She flew out of the house and headed for City Hall as fast as she could.She kept an eye open for the girls just in case she spotted them flying around, but didn't see any sign of them._I hope wherever they are, they're all right…_

She descended and entered City Hall, landing in the Mayor's office.He was seated at his desk, and Ms. Bellum was standing next to him, as usual."Sorry, Mayor, it's just me for this one," Blossom told them."What's the problem?"

Looking up from his desk, the Mayor said, "The problem…is the three of _you_, I'm afraid."

She was momentarily taken aback, "What?Us?"

The Mayor nodded sadly, and turned to Ms. Bellum, "Tell them…"

"Well, you see, Blossom…" Ms. Bellum said, with some reluctance, "We appreciate everything that you've done for Townsville, but…we've done some thinking, and really, if it weren't for you girls, nothing bad would _ever_ have happened to us here…"

"What do you mean?" Blossom asked.

"The city of Townsville was a _normal_ city a long time ago," Ms. Bellum explained."It wasn't until your creation that everything bad started happening.Mojo Jojo surfaced shortly after your creation, for example…"

"Well, that's because he was made at the same time as us…" Blossom told her.

"Exactly, but it doesn't stop there," Ms. Bellum continued."In one way or another, you girls have either directly or indirectly lead to the creation of _every_ villain in Townsville.If you had never been created, we would still be a normal town…"

Blossom was in awe, but she thought to herself, _Wait…I'm dreaming, I've got to be._She smiled slightly, and said, "I know this is a dream," she said."Everything you're saying is just a lie."

Ms. Bellum shook her head, "This is no lie.Think about it.True, Fuzzy Lumpkins _did_ go on a rampage through a small part of the town, but after that one isolated incident, he probably would have stayed out of Townsville's way…he likes his solitude, after all.But it was your going after him that made him the way he is: resentful towards you and your friends.The same could be said for Sedeusa, for that matter."

"But that's just…" Blossom began.

Interrupting, Ms. Bellum said, "Do you think the Gangrene Gang would be causing anything more than just juvenile trouble?Their most dangerous acts have been as a result of _your_ actions, or as a result of trying to destroy _you_.The same goes for Princess.If it weren't for her desire to become a Powerpuff Girl, she wouldn't have become any kind of threat at _all_ to Townsville.Even the Amoeba Boys wouldn't be a problem; they're only trying to impress _you_, after all."

Blossom paled a little.Even if this _was_ a dream, what she was saying had a ring of truth to it.But she challenged, "What about all the giant monster attacks?"

"You mean, the ones from Monster Island?" Ms. Bellum reminded her."The ones that come and cause havoc to Townsville just so that they can fight _you_?"As Blossom remembered how true that was, Ms. Bellum continued, "And even worse…our own law enforcement agency may be capable, but it's certainly not as strong as it _would_ be.Most of them expect _you_ to get the job done.Your mere _presence_ has weakened us…"

"I…" Blossom started to say, but fell speechless as it all began to sink in.

"You see, Blossom?" Ms. Bellum said."You see how much better the city would have been without you?We can't change the past…but if we knew then what we know now…we would have stopped Professor Utonium from creating you."

Her words chilled Blossom to the bone.She took a step back as she thought, _She's right…dream or not, she's right…we really _are_ the cause of all of Townsville's dangers.I never thought about it before, but it's so true…despite all we've done for the city, we could have done a lot more if we never existed…_

***

Blossom's eyes opened.She wasn't jolted out of her dream like before, and she wasn't surprised in the least to find herself lying on their bed, staring up at the ceiling._A dream, just like I thought.But it doesn't matter…there's so much truth to it…oh, why didn't Bubbles or Buttercup wake me up?They were supposed to check on me…_

She steeled herself, and thought, _You know, it doesn't matter…there are still a lot of things, like Roach Coach or the Broccoloids, or dozens of other small disasters like planes crashing and stuff that would have happened without us around anyway…and at least we were there to save them.Yes…it doesn't matter what my dream was trying to tell me…Townsville is still better with us around._

Smiling, she laid back again._Maybe, if I can just keep this kind of thing in mind, these bad dreams won't bother us again_, she thought._Yes!We can beat this, if we're strong enough to realize that they're not real…_

***

Bubbles scooped her hands idly through the sand in the sandbox.She and Buttercup had come to Pokey Oaks just to get away, and stayed in the playground, until they could make sense of everything.It wasn't coming easy, though."I just can't believe it…" Bubbles said, with a complete lack of enthusiasm in her voice."We really _are_ just a side-effect, aren't we?"

"Yeah…" Buttercup said, feeling just as listless as Bubbles.She sat with her legs curled up against her chest, just staring out at the slowly setting sun.

"What now?" Bubbles asked.

"I don't know," Buttercup replied."I really don't.I s'pose we could just go back, pretend like nothing's wrong…but I couldn't do that…"

Bubbles nodded, "Me either."She resumed digging in the sand."Blossom'll just have to take care of everything without us around…"

"She won't have a problem," Buttercup said."She's perfect, after all, thanks to us."

They fell quiet, the only sound being that of Bubbles digging her hands through the sand, and the wind blowing through the trees.The silence was broken, though, by a voice saying, "Girls…"They looked over to find the source of it, and say the Professor standing by the entrance of the playground.

"What do _you_ want?" Buttercup said with some anger.

"Listen," the professor said, walking over to the sandbox where they were sitting."I believe I owe you an explanation…"

"No you don't," Bubbles said."We know all about it…you only put enough in the mix for one…"

Nodding, Buttercup added, "Yeah, and we're just the bad stuff that wasn't included in Blossom when she was created…"

"That's not the case at all," the professor said.He crouched down next to the sandbox, and scooped up a handful of sand, as he explained, "Let's pretend for a moment that this is how much of the ingredients is needed to create the perfect little girl."He packed it together into a small mound, and put it back in the sandbox."This requires sugar, spice, and everything nice…so it consists of three parts."Using a finger, he divided the pile into three parts.

The other girls nodded, listening.He packed the pile back together again, and continued, "When I mixed it, however, I _did_ make a mistake…but it wasn't how you described it.Instead, I accidentally used the _final_ measurement in my computations for _each_ ingredient…"He scooped up another pile of sand about the same size, and added it to the first, then repeated it again with a third pile.

"So…you're saying…" Bubbles said, brightening up a little.

"That's right," the professor said."I miscalculated by accidentally including enough for _three_.There was sufficient sugar, spice, and everything nice to create _three_ perfect little girls."He smiled, "And that's exactly what happened."

Bubbles smiled back, and flew over to hug him.Buttercup also was relieved._I knew it…It was just a dream, and it wasn't real.Maybe we can still make it through this!_She said, "Thanks, professor…I feel so much better, knowing the truth this time…"

"Let's go home," the professor suggested."It's getting late…you three need to rest…"

"Okay," she said, and Bubbles nodded in agreement.The professor picked them up and started walking back to the car.Buttercup felt a lot better…despite everything that's happened to them in the past two days, she finally felt like things were looking up for once…

***

As the girls came into the room, they found Blossom still lying there, staring up at the ceiling.She turned their head to watch them, and said, "Oh, hi…how are things going?"

"Better," Bubbles said, flying over and landing on the bed."How about you?"

"A lot better, too," Blossom said."I had another bad dream while you were gone, but I think I pulled through it okay."She sat up, as Buttercup landed on the bed along with them."Girls, I think if we just keep in mind that these dreams aren't real, then they can't hurt us."

Buttercup grinned, "You're right.They're just dreams, after all.Nobody really gets hurt in dreams."

"Exactly!Now, what do you say we try to get a good night's sleep?" Blossom suggested.The other two nodded, and she said, "Great!Just remember…if anything unusual happens, it's only a dream.Tell yourself that, and you'll be okay…"

***

Buttercup soared over the night sky, although she didn't recognize the terrain below her.It looked like she was flying high over an island, amongst the clouds.Something about the fact that she didn't recognize where she was made sense._Ahh, of course…I'm dreaming.I have to be.Either that, or I completely forgot how I got here._

As she flew along, the sky suddenly pitched in front of her, and she felt an oddly familiar sensation…her flying had suddenly cut out on her, much like the illusion that she had felt the other day.She was a little surprised by it, but she just reassured herself, aloud, "It's a dream.It's a dream, don't worry…"

Her powers completely cut out, she just watched as she plummeted towards the island below.The free fall was actually kind of exhilarating in a way._This isn't so bad_, she thought.She looked beneath her to see where she was falling, and noticed it was directly towards an active volcano.She smirked…nice touch.

It grew closer and closer, and as it did, she became aware of the intense heat rising from it.Though it was mild at first, as she descended towards the brightly glowing lava below, it grew hotter and hotter, until she swore her skin was starting to burn.With some alarm, she felt it…a slight, burning pain across her entire body._What?But…but I'm dreaming!This can't be real!_

She was only seconds away from the lava, now, and the heat was unbearable.She felt it burn through her, and was suddenly filled with an awful thought…_What if I _did_ forget flying out here?What if this is really happening?!It _feels_ like it's really happening!_She held her hands up in front of her face protectively and clenched her eyes shut, praying she would wake up before she hit.

In the next instant, she plunged into the lava.It enveloped her in pain, an intense heat that seared her straight to the core.She was disoriented, and what seemed like an eternity later, she felt herself bobbing back to the surface of the lava.As she did, she screamed…the burning was horrible, and it wouldn't stop.She could barely see anything, not even the arms in front of her face…but what she did see of them, she almost didn't comprehend…it didn't look like her arms at all…they looked like they were…melting…almost like a candle._Please wake up! s_he thought furiously…_This is just a dream, wake up!Wake up!!I can't take it anymore, it's so hot!!SO HOT!!_

***

"It's so hot…" Blossom said, wiping her forehead.She was flying down the streets of Townsville, and gazed up at the sun._Wait a second_, she thought._Why is it day?It was just night?_Before she had time to complete these thoughts, she saw someone approaching…

It was the Amoeba Boys…but they looked awful, pale._Where have I seen them like this before?_ she wondered.They strolled past her, and their leader, Bossman, said, "Oh…hiya, Blossom…" with a sniffle.An instant later, he sneezed in her direction, "Haa---cHOO! *sniff*Sorry…"

Blossom wiped herself off._Gross_, she thought.As she watched them slide off down the street, she thought, _Wait a second…they have colds!But…that means…oh no, I hope this doesn't mean that horrible disease is back…_

She got ready to fly off back towards home, but as she did, she felt weak.She only made it a few dozen feet before descending and landing on the grass in the park nearby.Coughing, she looked down at her arms…they quickly became pale, and small, green blemishes began to form.

_It's daytime, remember?_ she thought._This is only a nightmare.You're probably just worried about it, because it was the first time you've been sick.Just wait it out, and you'll wake up_.She sat down on the grass, and coughed a few more times.Her limbs began to feel heavy, like they weighed a ton each, and she felt cold, and started to shiver.

A pain started throbbing in her head…closing her eyes, she rubbed her temples, and thought, _Oww…I hope I wake up soon…this really hurts…_As she thought this, her eyes flew open again, and she thought, _Pain?Wait a minute…dreams never hurt!So what's going on here?_She was filled with a sudden sense of fear, as she tried to get up, to find help, but she could barely move, and collapsed back to the ground on her back, weak and stiff.

_Okay okay…these dreams feel real…that much I know…but I still know that they're just dreams, so I'll just wake up_.She could barely think straight, though, as she felt the cold run through her body…every muscle ached and throbbed, and she clenched her teeth to try and ignore it.Her chest felt tight, like something was squeezing on it, and it started to become difficult to breathe.A few seconds later, she felt her legs go numb.

She tried to sit up, but it was impossible now.Her eyes closed and wouldn't open again…the feeling was draining from her body, all except the terrible throbbing and the coldness, which crept up from her deadened legs into her chest.She became aware of her own heartbeat, coming in loud thumps as it tried to fight back the disease.Each breath she took was becoming a chore…

_I'm dying_, she thought._But I'm dreaming…no, I can't be dreaming, I'm really dying!I can feel it!Please, no…it can't end this way!_She felt the coldness creep up through her arms, and into her neck.She felt tears roll out from her eyes…then she felt almost nothing at all.All she could hear was the sound of her lungs trying to take another breath in, and her slowing heartbeat, each beat accompanied by a pain that shot through her._Please, let it end now_, she begged.Her breath seized up in her chest, and she couldn't take in another…her heartbeat gradually slowed, until it had beat her last…then, there was nothing but silence…

***

In the silence of the hallway, Bubbles kept running…she didn't know what she was running from, but she knew she had to get away.She traveled down the long hallway, pausing for a moment to catch her breath._What's going on?_ she wondered._I must be dreaming again…yes, this has to be a dream…_

She looked back down the hallway and saw them coming around the corner.There were a half-dozen of them…they limped slowly forward, barely visible in the light, but she could still make them out.Their pale skin was ragged and torn, and some of their limbs were twisted at unnatural angles.Even their eyes looked glazed over, rolled back into their heads.The only sound from them besides the shuffling of their feet was their low, incoherent moaning.

_Zombies_, she thought.Picking herself back up again, she ran further down the hallway…as she reached the end of it, she found it was a dead end.Glancing about nervously, she looked for some way out, but there was none.The zombies came gradually closer, their arms outstretched for her, and she backed up quickly and fearfully into the corner.

_It's only a dream, it has to be_, Bubbles told herself._I'll wake up…I've _got_ to wake up!_The zombies surrounded her, and now there was nowhere left to run.She held up her hands protectively in front of her, but it did no good.They reached out and grabbed hold of her…she could feel the clamminess of their skin, and smelled the horrible stench of their rotting flesh.It made her cringe, and she silently prayed, _Please let this be a dream…I gotta wake up…it's not real, I gotta wake up…_

She was momentarily surprised when she felt the claws of one of them digging into her arm…she felt pain from it._What? _she thought…_B-but…but it never hurts in dreams…and I didn't wake up!What if…what if I _can't_ wake up?!_

At that moment, one of the zombies brought its teeth down into her arm.A sharp pain shot through her, and she yelped in alarm.The pain actually got worse as the zombie pulled its teeth away, like it had taken something with it.Complete panic now seized Bubbles, as she realized that maybe this _wasn't_ a dream after all.She thrashed about, trying to get free, but she couldn't…the grip of the zombies were unbreakable.

More of them began to bite into her, and it just kept getting worse by the second.She felt their teeth tugging at her, she felt the pain growing greater and greater, and began screaming her heart out.A flash of red shot past her eyes as a new pain seized her shoulder.She looked over, and through her tear-filled eyes, she saw her arm…but why did it look so far away?In horror, she realized why, and clenched her eyes shut so that she couldn't see it anymore.Her screams continued as the pain grew _still_ worse, and in her mind, she shrieked, _Please let me wake up let this be a dream please oh god please make them stop make them stop PLEASE GOD MAKE THEM STOP!!!!…_

***

All three of the girls awoke in a trio of screams.Buttercup was thrashing around, and fell off the end of the bed, landing with a *_thud_* on the ground.Blossom sat up, holding her hands to her chest and breathing heavily.Bubbles, shaking uncontrollably, scrambled backwards until she was pressed up against the headboard, sweat rolling down her head.

Blossom recovered first and, still seized with terror, recalled every last detail of her dream.She looked over as Buttercup pulled herself up from the ground back onto the bed with shaky hands.Blossom stammered, "You…t-too…?"

Buttercup nodded, her eyes wide open in fear, "Y-yes…geez….wh-what _was_ that…"

They both looked at Bubbles, who was staring blankly forward, clutching the bed sheets up over the lower half of her head and breathing a mile a minute.She didn't say anything…all they could hear was whimpering.Blossom asked, "Bubbles…a-are you okay?"She still didn't respond, but pulled the covers up higher.

"What on earth's _happening_ to us?!" Buttercup said, her voice shaking almost as much as her hands were.She tried to calm herself down, but it wasn't working._Oh man…I'm never going to go to sleep again…I don't care if it was just a dream, it was still the worst thing I've ever felt!What if it gets worse?Can it get worse? Oh god…please, I don't want to know…_

TO BE CONTINUED


	4. Chapter 4

Phantasmal Truths -- Chapter 4

**_Phantasmal Truths_**

By:Mark J. Hadley

**CHAPTER 4**

_ _

Downstairs in the kitchen, the girls sat around the table.It was almost two-thirty in the morning, and they had been awake for over an hour.Buttercup's eyes started to become droopy, but Blossom shook her, shoulder, waking her up again, "Careful, Buttercup…"

"So…tired…" Buttercup mumbled.

"No!" Blossom said, firmly."You can't go to sleep…do you want to go through all that again?"

Buttercup shook her head to clear it, and said, "You're right…I-I'll try to stay awake…if I can…"

Blossom nodded, and looked over at Bubbles, who was seated nearby.She gave no sign that she was listening.Although her eyes were wide open, she was still staring blankly forward and not really reacting much to what was going on around her.At least her breathing had steadied, but she was still trembling, non-stop.

_Poor Bubbles_, Blossom thought._Whatever it was that _she_ dreamed, it must have been terrible._She tried to focus back on the matter at hand, "Okay…let's think…we need to figure out what's going on and stop it.Otherwise, we're not going to last much longer…"

"No kidding," Buttercup said."But how?So far, we haven't had a _single_ clue…"

"I know…" Blossom nodded."But I don't know what else to do…"

They heard footsteps, as the Professor entered the kitchen.He was someone disheveled, like he had just woken up.Narrowing his eyes against the light from the kitchen, he said, "Girls?It's the middle of the night…what are you doing up?"

"Professor," Blossom said, her voice losing its resolve a little, "We a-all had nightmares again, all three of us…b-but they were worse than before…"

"Oh no," the professor said sadly."How much worse?"

"A _lot_," Buttercup told him."I-I dreamed I fell into a volcano…and I felt every _second_ of it…"

Blossom nodded, "Mine was realistic, too…and Bubbles, I think her dream must have been, too…"Bubbles finally reacted…she looked up at the professor, and though she said nothing, the fear that was showing in her eyes said enough. 

The professor scooped them all up from the table, hugging them tightly, "Oh…you poor girls!This is terrible…I promise I'll get to the bottom of this…"The girls hugged him back…although they were still afraid, it still gave them a feeling of comfort.

"Th-thank you, Professor," Blossom said.

Setting them back down, the professor started to pace, "Now, let's think about this.It's only happening to you three, and no one else, right?"

"I think so," Buttercup agreed.

"So that means there are three possibilities," he said, scratching his chin thoughtfully."Okay, 'A'…it's something in your unique Chemical-X-based physiology that's causing this.'B'…something is specifically _doing_ this to you, as exclusive targets.Or 'C'…the three of you came in contact with something that caused this change."

Blossom scratched her head, "I think you're right…but the question is, which _is_ it?"

"I'd hate to think it was the first," the professor said."The idea that your minds would eventually be warped by the same source that gives you your powers is a frightening thought.Besides, from my tests, there's nothing really physically _wrong_ with you, at least that I can detect.Still, unfortunately, it's a possibility."

"What about the second one?" Buttercup asked.

"Yes," Blossom added."Any _number_ of the villains we've fought would probably do this to us if they had the chance."

"I don't know, though," Buttercup pointed out."This seems a little extreme, even for them."

"Mojo would go to those lengths and _further_ to prove that he was the most evil being in the universe," Blossom countered."But…yeah, we'd probably remember being shot with a chemical or something.I certainly don't remember anything like that, do you?"

Buttercup shook her head.The professor said, "Now, the third…do the three of you remember anything unusual happening before everything started?Even a few days or a week before?"

"No, nothing," Blossom said."The two weeks before it were pretty uneventful, actually."

"Well, now I _am_ puzzled," the professor admitted."There are a lot of possibilities, but no definite answers…"

"Maybe not, but we've got to…keep…" Blossom began, but trailed off.She became aware of something moving down on the ground.It was like a black mist, rolling into the room from the doorways.As she started down at it, Buttercup and Bubbles noticed it as well, but the professor just stood there, oblivious to it.

"What on earth…" Buttercup breathed.

The professor looked concerned, "What?What is it?"

The mist grew thicker, covering the ground like a carpet.It slowly rose higher as it filled more of the room._The professor's not seeing it,_ Blossom thought._It must be another hallucination…_As the mist reached her chair level and touched her legs, she suddenly felt chilled, almost like her legs had just been dunked into ice water.With a yelp, she flew up from the table into the air.Buttercup and Bubbles, seeing her reaction to the mist, followed suit.

Blossom looked around for a way out, but the doors were already completely covered.The mist closed in around them, and the three of them held onto each other, back to back.Bubbles finally spoke, "Wh-what _is_ it?!"

Before anyone could answer, the mist encircled them and closed in.All three of them cringed, as the iciness of it bit into their skin.They shivered and began to cough, now that the thick stuff filled the air.They couldn't see anything, and Blossom desperately held tightly onto the other girls' hands."Girls, don't…*_cough_*…don't let go!"

The professor's voice came, but it was distant, and it echoed around them.[Girls…?Are you all right…?What's happening…?]They still saw nothing except the inky void, and besides the grip of each others' hands, they felt only the coldness…

Something rushed out at them from the void.They could hear it, but they could barely see it aside from the mist that seemed to roll aside at its passing.It passed right through them like a ghost, but they could feel something deep in their chests that they couldn't describe, like it had struck them from the inside.They screamed and reeled from the impact.

"What was that, what was that, what was that!" Buttercup repeated, holding on tighter.Without warning, they heard it approach from another angle…but before they could react, it struck them again, in the same way as before.Screaming again, their eyes darted around frantically, trying to see where it had gone.

Everything fell eerily quiet, save for their own frightened breathing and whimpering.They watched and waited, looking all around them, still sensing that it was nearby and knowing that it could strike them again at any time.They heard the professor's distant voice speaking again, [Oh my…!Girls…!Remember, it's an illusion…!It's not real…!]

_Who cares if it's an illusion?_ Blossom thought._It still feels real!We have to find a way to resist it, though…we have to!_After several long seconds of waiting, it approached them again, again too fast for them to do anything to stop it.Bubbles had only enough time to say, "No, _no…_!" before it struck them again.They screamed louder…it wasn't really getting any _worse_, it's just that that they had no idea when it was going to hit them next.

Buttercup ignored everything else and just focused on the mist._Show yourself!_ she thought._You coward!!_The coldness of the mist continued to prick at her skin, but she barely noticed.All her attention was on the mist, looking for any sign of whatever it was to show…

"Buttercup, we…" Blossom began.

"Shh!" Buttercup hushed her.She didn't blink as she continued to stare, although her eyes shook with the same fear that she felt._C'mon_, she thought_…a little twirl of mist, a little change in the shadow…give yourself away…_

She caught a tiny bit of movement, and shouted, "There!"She immediately dashed forward, pulling the other girls with her…letting go of Bubbles' hand, she struck out with her fist, and felt it connect with a satisfying *_krakk_*.An echoing roar rose from the darkness, and she grinned to herself.The other girls, hearing the roar, immediately honed in on it and threw their own punches, each landing one.

There was a *_whump_* as it hit the floor.Before they had a chance to congratulate themselves, however, the mist slowly started to evaporate, growing thinner and thinner until they could see again…by the time it was completely gone, they had all seen what they had done.Although Blossom and Buttercup were speechless, Bubbles managed to say, "P-professor…?"

The professor was lying crumpled on the ground in front of them, motionless.His face was battered from two of the hits, and he looked like he had taken a hit in the side as well.For a moment, they thought he was dead—the way he looked, and how motionless he was—but then, to their relief, they saw his chest rise and fall slowly with a breath.They still didn't feel any better about it, though.

"Professor, no!" Bubbles cried out, in tears.

"Tell me we didn't just do that…please, tell me!" Buttercup exclaimed, horrified.

Blossom flew down next to the professor, checking him.He was out cold, but she confirmed that he was still alive."We need to get him to a hospital, fast!" she ordered.

The others nodded, and all three of them scooped up the professor, gently lifting him into the air.They headed out of the kitchen for the front door, and froze in confusion.The walls were blank…there weren't any doors or even any windows.Buttercup blanched, "What?But…"

"Just an illusion!" Blossom shouted."Go to where the door normally is!"They flew over to that section of the wall, and Blossom felt around with her hand.Sure enough, even though she couldn't see it, she felt the doorknob, and quickly opened the door, which became visible as she did.They flew out from the house and into the night sky.

They headed for the skyscrapers of Townsville in the distance.As they did, another illusion hit them…no matter how much they continued to fly towards the buildings, they seemed to get further away rather than closer.Buttercup clenched her teeth and growled, "No, this isn't fair!!How the heck are we gonna find the hospital if we can barely find the _city?!_"

"We have to try!" Blossom shouted."The professor's life depends on it!"

Try as they might, though, the image of the city just kept getting further and further away.All of a sudden, in a flash, they were right upon it…one of the skyscrapers that looked way off in the distance a moment ago became visible only a couple dozen feet from them.They were able to stop in time, but just barely.Another second and they would have impacted into the side.

Not wasting any time, Blossom said, "Now, while we can see clearly, let's find the hospital!"They quickly circled around the edge of the building…and froze.The entire city looked like it was on fire…tall burning blazes reaching up into the sky and illuminating the surroundings with a dull orange glow.

"It's not _really_ on fire, is it?" Bubbles asked, worried.

"Probably not," Blossom said.They dove down towards the streets, looking for the hospital amongst the flames.They could feel the heat from the fire; it certainly _felt_ real enough, but they knew better, especially when they spotted a policeman walking a night beat along the sidewalk, completely unaware of the raging inferno around him.

_Wait, that gives me an idea,_ Blossom thought.She said, "Change of plans…this way!"They flew on an intercept course with the officer, who looked up at their arrival in surprise, and looked shocked when he saw the Professor's condition.Blossom quickly asked, "Officer!Can you get Professor Utonium to the hospital for us?We need to get moving and don't have time!"

"Of course, Powerpuff Girls, right away," the officer responded.The girls set the professor down on the sidewalk in front of him, and took back off into the sky.They looked back down as they left and saw the officer calling for an ambulance over his radio.

Buttercup gave a sigh of relief, "That was lucky.If we tried to find the hospital ourselves, it'd probably have been too late…"

"Yes…but now, we've got to figure this all out on our own," Blossom said, "at least until the professor gets better."

Buttercup was about to say something else, when she noticed that the orange glow and crackling sound of the fires had just stopped.Looking down, she saw that Townsville was no longer on fire.She grinned, "Ha…I knew it!"

Bubbles smiled, turning to face the other girls, and said, "At least the worst is over wi—…"Her smile quickly faded, though, into a horrified stare.With a shaky arm, she pointed behind them, her jaw dropping open but no words forming.The girls spun around to see what she was looking at.Something huge and dark was moving towards them, sweeping across the landscape for miles across, and much taller than even the tallest buildings in Townsville.It looked almost like a tidal wave, except it wasn't water.

The girls backed away from it, but it was coming awfully fast…and as it got closer, they could see that it was a flood of all kinds of insects and other bugs.Ants, beetles, roaches, centipedes, spiders, and more, including lots of things they didn't even recognize.They turned to flee, but barely got a few feet before the tidal wave crashed over them.The impact from it knocked them down from the sky.They reeled around, disoriented, and somehow let go of each other's hands in the midst of it all.

Bubbles waved her arms around, trying to clear a place to see, and swam her way upwards through the darkness until she managed to stick her head up from the 'surface'.There looked like an endless sea of the creatures in all directions.With little more than a horrified whine, she tried to fly out from them.Impossibly, even with her strength, they weren't letting her go…instead, she was very slowly starting to get pulled under again.

_Omigodomigodomigod,_ Bubbles thought as her head disappeared beneath the surface again.She felt them crawling all over her…on her arms and legs, across her face, in her hair…it was too much for her, and she shrieked hysterically, thrashing around and trying to get away, thinking, _Get 'em off me GET 'EM OFF ME!!_

Buttercup was in a similar situation.Normally, something like this wouldn't bother her so much, but they were everywhere, and she couldn't break free from them, even with her full strength._This isn't happening!_ she thought._It's an illusion, has to be…oh god, they're everywhere!_She cried out, "Girls!Where are y—…"As she shouted, she realized too late that opening her mouth in this situation was a mistake…she gagged and coughed, and thought, _It's not real it's not real it's not real it's not real…_

Blossom felt utter revulsion at what was happening.As the creatures crawled all over her, she clenched her eyes shut and just tried to ignore it._They'll go away,_ she thought._Think logically…there's no way this many insects could be here right now.They don't actually exist.They're just figments of your imagination._She focused on these thoughts as hard as she could, until a sudden movement broke her concentration. She felt herself getting swept along in a current.

Opening her eyes, she saw what looked like a giant whirlpool drawing her in, a giant vortex of the insects swirling around and dragging everything towards the center.In panic, she tried to wade through the creatures in the opposite direction, but the whirlpool swept her in anyway.A scream escaped from her, and she could hear two other screams as well…the other girls had to be nearby.The whirlpool drew all three of them down, spinning rapidly, until finally, they hit the bottom…

With three distinct *_thud_* sounds, the girls each landed on the street.They scrambled around for a moment, trying to get their bearings.As they came to their senses, they realized the insects were all gone; it was just them once again.Blossom and Buttercup looked at each other, and then both of them looked over at Bubbles, who curled up in a little ball on the ground and lay there, shaking and crying.

Bubbles can't handle much more of this, Blossom thought.To be honest, neither can I…

Buttercup gritted her teeth in anger and suddenly lost her cool, throwing back her head and shouting, "_C'mon, is that all you've got?!_"She spun around, looking down the opposite direction of the street, and yelled, "_You heard me!Bring it on, you spineless cowards!!_"She didn't care what she was saying…all she cared about was getting to the bottom of this.

"Buttercup, what are you _doing?!_" Blossom exclaimed, grabbing her arm."Calm down!"

"No, don't you see?" Buttercup said, her voice shaking with rage."We keep begging for this stuff to stop, and it's not working!We need to _ask_ for it!"Raising her voice again, she said, "_Do you hear me?Give us your worst!I dare ya!!_"Her shouts echoed down the empty streets, leaving only a silence hanging in the air.

For a long while, nothing happened.Buttercup slowly smiled, and was about to say, "I told you so," when something started happening to the buildings around them.Everything began to stretch and warp slowly, elongating and curving over the street.Bubbles sat up in alarm, wiping the tears from her eyes, and the other girls backed up next to her, away from the buildings.As they reached each other, they grabbed hold of each other's hands again.

The buildings twisted around in a gross parody of their former design, like some abstract art drawing.Parts of the street even began to buckle and warp along with it.A strange, high-pitched whine filled the air, like a rushing wind.They began to see figures moving towards them down the street.As they grew closer, they became visible in the dim light of the streetlights…the people of Townsville.

The Mayor was in the lead…he gazed at the girls and said, "How awful…to think that we'd be a nice, normal town without the Powerpuff Girls."

Ms. Bellum, next to him, said, "Yes, the girls should never have been created."

In shock, Blossom said, "N-no, we…"But the two of them had already stepped aside.Miss Keane, her eyes teary, stepped forward from behind them."Miss Keane?" Blossom said.

Bubbles whispered, "No…"

"Oh, girls…" Miss Keane sobbed."You showed such promise…what happened to you?"She started crying, turning and running back into the darkness.Bubbles held out an arm, like she wanted to tell her not to go, but Miss Keane had already vanished.

Another shape drifted forward…the girls gasped, as they recognized it as the professor.But he was a strange bluish color, and they could see through him.Buttercup said, "Professor?What h-happened to you?"

"_You_ happened to me," he told them, frowning sadly."You weren't strong enough to pull through this…not nearly strong enough…and so you lashed out.And this is the end result…"

"N-no," Blossom cried out, "You can't be…"

"We…we sent you to the hospital!" Buttercup insisted.

The professor closed his eyes and slowly shook his head in disappointment, "To think…my own creations were my undoing.Kind of ironic in a way.The Mayor's right; things would have been so much better off if I had never…"

"_No!!_" Blossom shouted, cutting him off.She frowned angrily, "You're not the real professor!The real professor would _never_ say anything like that!"

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," the professor said."And now, there are a lot of things you never will.Farewell…"He began drifting back.

"No, wait!" Bubbles called out."Don't go!"

The ghostly professor started to ascend, when dozens of red arms, ending in sharp claws, snaked out from the ground and grabbed him.The professor looked around in surprise, and the claws began dragging him down towards the ground.The girls watched in horror as he struggled to get free, to no avail, and screamed, "Noo!I should…never have cr-created…you…"

All three of the girls yelled together, "_NOO!!_" as the professor was pulled into the ground.He slowly disappeared, a look of terror on his face…the last thing to go was his arm, reaching out one last time as though pleading for help before it, too, vanished.The other people of Townsville gathered around them and, pointing, started to shout, "_You are worthless!You should never have been!The world hates you!Everyone hates you!You are the cause of all this suffering!You!YOU!!_"

They couldn't believe it…their whole world seemed to be crumbling around them, and they didn't know what was real or not anymore.Buttercup grabbed the sides of her head and fell to her knees, trying to shut out the shouts of the crowd.Bubbles fell to her knees as well, and cried loudly, tears rolling down her face in an endless stream.Blossom, her whole body quivering, still stood, but it was still all too much for her…it was too much for any of them…

Finally, she tossed her head back and, breaking down into tears, pleaded, "Enough!!_Please!!_No more…no more…please…we'll do anything…"She buried her face in her hands, and sobbed.

At that moment, the voices of the people of Townsville stopped entirely, as a different voice spoke to them…a high-pitched voice that seemed to echo from all directions at once, "Aaaaaaaaaaanythinnnng?"

Lifting their gazes, the girls looked around in confusion through their tears, trying to find the source of the new voice.A second later, a plume of red smoke burst forth from the air in front of them, and a single figure took shape, smiling wickedly at them in triumph.They recognized it immediately…it was the most malevolent creature to ever walk the face of the earth, the embodiment of evil itself, whose name alone could cause untold disasters to befall mankind if uttered aloud…the vile fiend, known only to the world as…Him…

**_TO BE CONTINUED…_**


	5. Chapter 5

Phantasmal Truths -- Chapter 5

**_Phantasmal Truths_**

By:Mark J. Hadley

**CHAPTER 5**

_ _

Blossom tried to pull herself together, but was becoming more and more difficult.Everything they had been through…the nightmares, the illusions, everything…it was all so much to bear, and it was all that much worse not knowing where it was coming from.Now, it had all started to fall into place, but even so, she still felt cold and helpless.Her voice betrayed her, sounding just as helpless as she spoke softly, "Him…"

Speaking in a melodious voice that belied his true nature, he said, "Hello, girls!I just thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing.I _imagine_ you're enjoying yourselves, hmm?"

Blossom clenched her teeth, "_You're_ behind all this?!"

Him modestly waved his claw and said with a chuckle, "Well, yes…I suppose I _did_ have a hand in it.Some of my best work, don't you think?"

Her own rage boiling over, Buttercup shouted, "You've gone _too far_ this time!Scaring us completely out of our _minds_ like this!!"

"Why, thank you!" Him said, smiling wider than ever, "Sometimes it's _soooo_ hard to tell if my work is having an effect or not…your feedback means a _lot_ to me, truly..."He vanished, and reappeared behind Bubbles, placing a claw in mock sympathy on her shoulder, "And how are you doing, my dear?Enjoying yourself, are you?"

Bubbles was still crying, and couldn't do much other than stare back in disbelief.Buttercup shouted, "Leave her alone!"She was about to fly towards him, but he already had vanished, and reappeared back where he was a few moments before.

_I knew he was powerful,_ Blossom thought, _but not _that_ powerful!How is he managing all this?_She called out, "Why are you doing this to us?And _how_?"

"Oh, patience, Blossom," Him said, "You'll know soon enough _why_.As for _how_…"He lifted one of his claws up slowly, and revealed a small, palm-sized glass orb…it swirled with a deep violet color and had an aura of purple light surrounding it.It seemed to pulse with evil energy, looking both beautiful and deadly at the same time.

Buttercup stared in awe at it, "What _is_ that?"

"This is the Phantasmal Orb," Him announced proudly, tracing his free claw over its surface."With it, I can alter your perceptions, making you see and feel whatever _I_ want.It took me nearly two weeks of concentrating all the evil output from Townsville to make it."

"Evil output?" Blossom asked.

Him nodded, turning the orb around to examine it closer, "Yes…it had the unfortunate side effect of there being no evil in the town for those two weeks…but it was worth it!"

_Two weeks?_ Blossom thought, recalling something she said to the professor earlier._No wonder it was so uneventful…no crimes or anything at all happened in Townsville for those two weeks, while he slowly built up the energy he needed to create this 'Phantasmal Orb'…_

"Well, you made a _big_ mistake!" Buttercup growled, with more confidence than she felt."Now we know about your little game, so we can stop you!"

Him just cackled, "Oh, if _only _you knew!You see, girls, I'm not through with you yet…no, not at all…we still have so much _more_ to do…"

"Wrong," Blossom said, tensing up in preparation for a fight."It's over, now."Bubbles managed to pull herself back to her feet, and prepared herself, too.Buttercup was already prepared…she looked like she was ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk…" Him said, waving a claw and shaking his head sadly."Girls, you know I don't like to leave unfinished business.So why don't we all just take a deep breath, relax…"He raised the orb above his head, and his voice became deeper, darker, "…and _say goodbye!!_"The orb started glowing brightly, rays of light shining out from it in all directions.The girls shielded their eyes, and started flying towards him, but they didn't make it in time…

***

_And suddenly_, Buttercup was in the middle of a dark room.Only a single light shined on her from above.She glanced around in confusion._How…how did I get here?_ she thought._Where are the girls?And Him?_

People began to step into the light from around her…all of her friends and family.She saw the kids at school, along with Blossom and Bubbles, standing there, watching her.Buttercup said, "Hey, you two!What's going on here?"

Blossom and Bubbles glanced at each other, and Blossom said, "Think we should tell the baby?"

"I guess so," Bubbles said."Doesn't really matter."

"Baby?" Buttercup said, a little irritated."What do you mean by that?"As she watched, though, she noticed that they were all changing gradually.Her classmates were growing older…within about fifteen seconds, they looked like they were about nine or ten years old.Even her sisters seemed to grow older.Yet, she looked at herself, and saw that she was remaining the same.

It continued on, and pretty soon, they were all in their early teens.Their giggled as they looked down at Buttercup, and she heard some of them speaking, "Hey, look at the little toddler!""Aww, isn't she cute?""A little child…"

"What's going on?" she demanded, but they didn't listen to her, they just continued to tease her.She felt angry, but at the same time she felt a little embarrassed, somehow.

Blossom, who by now looked like she was fifteen or sixteen, smirked down at Buttercup and said, "Hey, short stuff…how's my little sister doing?"Bubbles, next to her, held something up…it was Buttercup's blanket.Surprised and a little angry to see Bubbles with it, she leapt up to try and grab it from her, but she held it higher, causing her to miss.

"Whoops!A little higher next time, Babycup!" Bubbles giggled.

Buttercup was furious, "Stop that!I'm _not_ a baby!"All the people around her began to laugh at her even more, and they all stepped backwards, disappearing into the darkness again.She could still hear their voices, calling her names, but could no longer see them."What _is_ this?It's like I'm dreaming again, but I _know_ I'm not asleep!"

The familiar tone of Him's voice came from behind her, "That's because you aren't, Buttercup.I'm showing you what's in store for you in the future…"

Buttercup didn't even turn around…she said, "The future.Heh.Right."

"I'm quite serious," Him said, drifting around in front of her…she turned to look away.He continued, "It's one of your 'powers' that you haven't discovered yet.You will never grow older, I'm afraid…you'll just be a little five-year-old your entire life."His voice sounded like he was sad, but his expression showed nothing but glee at this fact.

"No, you're lying," Buttercup said."I won't believe it!"

"Whether you believe it or not makes it _no_ less true," he taunted."You'll be doomed to live out your life as the little _baby_ of the family.Cute…little…_Buttercup_.Oh, how delightful it will be to watch your sorrow as you miss out on all the joys of growing older!"

Buttercup closed her eyes, trying to ignore Him.Still, his words shook her…_What if he's telling the truth?I don't wanna be a child for the rest of my life!_She whispered, "…no…"

Him smiled, "Yesss…."

"_NO!_" Buttercup shouted, waving her arms."I'm not gonna _let_ it happen!"

"What can _you_ do to stop it?" Him asked."You're just a poor little girl…"His laughter echoed, and Buttercup couldn't stand it._Why is he doing this?_ she thought._He wouldn't be flaunting this in my face like this for no reason at all…unless he's planning something, or…or it's really true, and he just wants to gloat about it…_Buttercup was already too shaken up by everything else that happened so far tonight to be able to stand firm against it.She clenched her eyes tighter, trying to keep herself from crying._Not here, not in front of Him…I'm not a baby, I'm not…_

Him stretched out in the air, as though he were lying down to relax, and said, "I can do something to stop it, though.But you wouldn't be interested in that, now, would you?"

Buttercup's eyes opened…a few of the tears she was holding in leaked out from the sides, but she didn't care."What do you mean?" she whispered.

"I can release you from this power," Him declared."You'll be able to grow older.Yes…you would like that, wouldn't you?The idea of being the baby of the family is _so_ loathsome to you, you'd be willing to do _anything_, wouldn't you?"

Buttercup didn't say a word.It was true, she would, but…to make a deal with Him?"What's the catch?" Buttercup asked.

"There is no 'catch'…just open your mind to me, so that I might work my magic," Him explained."So, shall we begin?"He waited for her reply.

Buttercup thought about it…if this _was_ true, this would probably be her only opportunity to stop it from happening._Just go ahead,_ she thought._You want to grow older, don't you?He doesn't even want anything in return!Just do it, go ahead!C'mon, before he changes his mind!_As she started to open her mouth to speak, another thought leapt into her head… _Wait a sec, what does 'opening my mind' have to do with it?No…no, it's a trick!Don't listen to him!_

"No!" she finally said."_Forget_ your offer!I refuse!"

Him looked angry, and his voice deepened, "What?!You can't refuse this!You'll be a child forever if you do!"

"So?I'd rather stay like _this_ than make a deal with _you!_" she exclaimed, summoning up all her courage."The answer is _no!_And that's _final!_"As she spoke, the air around her suddenly seemed to shatter, like glass, into hundreds of tiny shards…

***

_And suddenly_, Blossom found herself floating above an alien world…no, it wasn't a world.It was glowing too brightly.It was the sun…she was hovering there in space, quite a ways from the surface, yet close enough to feel the intense heat rising from it.She sweated heavily, and shielded her eyes from the bright glare._What am I doing here? _she thought._This has to be Him's doing…_

She tried to move, but she felt like she was locked in place by some invisible force.She could move her arms and legs, and even swivel around in the air, but she couldn't fly from that spot.A moment later, Him appeared next to her…in his melodious voice, he said, "So, Blossom, enjoying the view?"

"Why did you bring me out here?" Blossom demanded, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

Him spread his arms out, "I wanted a nice quiet place to talk…and this _seemed_ to be a good choice, don't you think?We have _much_ to discuss…"

Frowning, Blossom said, "Like what?What could I possibly want to discuss with _you?_"

"I'll bet you didn't know that it's in my power to grant someone immortality…did you?" Him said.Blossom stayed silent, and he continued, "No, I didn't think so.Well, I do…I can give it to whomever I choose."

"That's great," Blossom said, sarcastically, "but what's your point?"

"My point, dear Blossom, is that you and I are going to make a little deal," he said, rubbing his claws together evilly.

With a smirk, Blossom said, "Save your breath, Him.I know what you're going to say."

"Oh?And what would that be?" he said, humoring her.

"You're going to make some deal where I give up, or let you take over Townsville or something, in exchange for immortality.Well, you can forget it.I don't want to live forever _that_ badly.There's no _way_ you could convince me to…"

"Why, Blossom, you misunderstand," he said, cutting her off.Blossom looked confused, and he said, "You have it backwards.You see, I've already _given _you immortality, as we speak."

Blossom took in a short breath of air.She looked down at her arms…she didn't _feel_ any different._I'm…immortal?_ she thought.Looking up in sudden anger, she protested, "Hold on!I didn't agree to _anything_ yet!"

"I know…consider it a gift," he said with a grin.

"But…" Blossom said."But…how do I even know you're telling the truth?I don't feel any different…"

"I suppose I _could_ prove it easily enough…" Him said absently.He waved his claw, and suddenly Blossom dropped from where she was floating, directly towards the sun below.It was so sudden, she hadn't been prepared for it.The invisible force that was holding her before pulled her along, and she couldn't resist it.Barely a few seconds later, she plunged into the surface.

Blossom screamed, as the invisible force dragged her down, into the depths of the sun.Her entire body was a horrible, searing pain…it felt like it was a hundred times worse than anything she had felt before.Yet somehow, through it all, she not only remained alive, but conscious as well.That just made matters worse…she begged for the pain to stop, begged to pass out or _something_, but no such luck.She couldn't move…all she could do was scream.

She couldn't tell how long she had been down there…seconds, minutes…it felt like an eternity.Eventually, though, the invisible force pulled her back up again…she emerged from the sun's surface, and in another few seconds, found herself high above the surface, stopping next to Him, who was waiting for her, smiling.Blossom was breathing almost like she was hyperventilating, she was in such a deep state of fear.She couldn't even form any words at first…she just stared blankly at Him.

"Aww, what's wrong?" Him said, in a mocking tone."Stayed out in the sun too long?"

Tears rolling down from her eyes, Blossom finally found her voice, "…Y-you…wha…wh-what do you _want_ f-from me?!…"

"I take it you're ready to listen to my offer?" Him said.Blossom nodded, shaking.He nodded back and said, "It's like this…all you have to do is open your mind to me.That's all.In exchange, I'll take away your immortality, so that you can die _instantly_, and avoid any more suffering.Refuse…"His voice darkened, "…and you will spend the rest of eternity in the sun, in eternal torment, unable to die, and unable to truly live…"

"You…you _monster_!" Blossom exclaimed.

Him folded his arms casually behind his head, and waited."Better make a decision soon, my little Powerpuff, before I decide to withdraw my offer…"

Blossom looked back down towards the sun.The thought of spending another _second_ in there terrified her, let along an eternity._How can I choose?_ she thought._I have to choose between dying instantly or living forever in pain?What kind of decision is that?_She bit her lip, and looked back at Him, who was anxiously awaiting her response.

_Look at him…all smug, knowing he's got me,_ she thought._Why does he want me to open my mind to him so badly?_A sudden thought chilled her…_Maybe whatever he's looking for, he'll use it against Bubbles and Buttercup!No, I can't let him do that!_"Him…n-no, I won't.I won't do it."

"You would choose everlasting torture over a quick end?!" he growled."You're more foolish than I imagined!"

"I-I know letting you into m-my mind is just going to be so you find something t-to use against the other girls," Blossom said."I can _never_ allow that…"

Him frowned, narrowing his eyes, and said, "Fine!So be it!You'll have to _beg_ me to change your mind now…"His voice rose in pitch as he smiled, "…and I know you will, too!"He cackled, as Blossom plummeted towards the star once again.She clenched her eyes and teeth, and braced herself…

Once again, she was submerged beneath the sun's surface, and once again, the horrible agony began.She screeched, but then clamped her mouth shut and tensed up…it was difficult to think, but she managed, _No…I won't…give him the…satisfaction of watching…me scream!_It was dreadful, and unending, but she didn't beg to be released…she didn't let her will break…one thought comforted her through it: _At least…my sisters will…be safe…_

Opening her eyes against it, she somehow saw Him in the distance…he was watching her, furious, and Blossom knew that this was her chance to show her resolve…she smiled with as much confidence as she could muster.Abruptly, the bright, fiery surroundings suddenly split and exploded, like a brick tossed through a window…

***

_And suddenly,_ Bubbles looked around.She found herself in a dark hallway…something about it seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't remember.She couldn't think straight, not after all that had happened to her._Where am I?What's going on?_

She knew that she couldn't be dreaming…she had been awake just before she got here._Maybe I was sent here by Him…or…I don't know!What am I going to do?I can't face him alone!_She called out, "Blossom?Buttercup?Where are you?"

Him's voice surrounded her, echoing off the walls of the corridor, "They can't help you now, Bubbles.No one can help you now…you don't know where you are, do you?"Bubbles took another look around, mostly looking for the source of the voice, but then her surroundings began to spark a memory…a memory that she had been trying to forget…

"No!" she exclaimed, as the details of her dream came back to her."I d-don't want this dream again!Don't!"She started looking around for a way out, and headed quickly down the hallway in one direction, but froze with a cry of alarm as she saw what she feared she would see.

The zombies came into view around the edge of the corridor.They were just as gruesome as in her dream, and they shuffled slowly towards her, their low moans echoing down the halls.She didn't want to look at them, but couldn't take her eyes off of them either…_Oh god, no,_ she thought…_it's happening again!No, please no!!_

__Almost like he had been listening in on her thoughts, Him's voice echoed again, "Yeeeesss!There's no escape, Bubbles!But you should know that better than anyone…"

The zombies continued their approach.She turned and rushed as fast as she could in the opposite direction, shrieking, "No!Get away, get _away!!_"As she gained some distance, she knew what she would find before she even got there…and sure enough, she approached the end of the corridor, a dead end, just like in her dream.Leaning up against it, she pounded it once with her fist in anger, and started crying._Not again!Please, not again…_

The moans grew steadily closer, and she looked over her shoulder at the zombies.Her lip quivering, she stammered, "I-its only a d-dream, Bubbles…r-remember what th-they said…you'll j-just wake up…"

As if on cue, Him materialized next to her, leaning up casually against the wall."Ah yes," he said, "This _is_ a lot like your dream isn't it?With one small exception, Bubbles…"His eyes burned with fire, and he grinned evilly, his voice becoming darker, "…it's _not!_"

"Wh-what…?" Bubbles whispered.

"That's right…it's no dream, Bubbles," he said, looking back at the zombies, which grew ever closer."It's really happening this time.And I can guarantee…it'll be _much_ worse when it's _actually_ happening…"

Bubbles started breathing quickly, pressing back into the corner, sweat pouring down the sides of her head."N-no…this isn't happening!"

Him shrugged, "Just keep telling yourself that…maybe it'll give you some comfort before you die…"The zombies were almost on top of her now, only a dozen feet away and closing.She thought, _No, no no no no…no…god please no…_

"There is an alternative, though…" he said, scratching the side of his head."Now, what was it again?Let me think…"

"_What?What is it?!_" Bubbles shrieked, as the zombies reached for her.She tried pushing their arms away, but to no avail.

"You could…open up your mind to me, Bubbles," Him suggested."If you do, I'll make the zombies go away.Otherwise, I should tell you 'farewell' _now_, while you're still alive to hear it…"

The zombies grabbed her, lifting her into the air.She saw them starting to bear their putrid yellow teeth._It's real,_ she thought…_I'm gonna die!It's real it's real it's real…_Finally, she clenched her eyes shut, and at the top of her lungs, screamed and sobbed at the same time, "_ALL RIGHT!!ALL RIGHT!!I'LL DO IT…anything…please…_just make them…go away…please…"

***

As the glass-like shattering of the worlds around Blossom and Buttercup vanished, they found both of themselves back on the streets of Townsville.In surprise, the two of them looked around, blinking their eyes and trying to get their bearings.Blossom thought, _I'm…I'm okay!I'm not really out by the sun!It must have been another illusion…oh, thank goodness…_

Buttercup looked equally relieved, and she said, "I knew it!He was just toying with us!We're okay!"

"Yes!" Blossom said.She cast a glimpse across the area and said, "I don't see Him anywhere…I wonder where he ran off to…"As she looked around, something else occurred to her…Him wasn't the _only_ one missing.

Buttercup noticed it, too."Where's Bubbles?" she asked, concerned.

"I don't know…" Blossom said, then called out in a louder voice, "_Bubbles?_"

There was no answer.At least not from Bubbles…they heard Him's voice descend over the street, as he gloated, "Oh well…one success out of three still isn't too bad.And it's all I need…"

"What've you done with her?" Buttercup demanded.

"She's fine," Him answered."She's around.Why not go look for her?"With an echoing laugh, his voice faded out entirely.Blossom looked worried…_Oh no…what did he do to Bubbles?_

***

Bubbles flew over the park, rubbing her eyes.She didn't know why, but panic still seemed to fill her…she had the distinct feeling something was wrong, but she couldn't figure out what.As she descended towards the park, she spotted some people, who turned to greet her…but _no_, they weren't people…like her nightmare brought to life once again, she saw them…pale skin, twisted limbs, dead stares."No!" Bubbles shouted."You lied!You said no more zombies!_You lied!!_"She took off from the park, gaining distance quickly from the citizens within, who glanced at each other, confused by her reaction to them, unaware of what _she_ had seen…

TO BE CONTINUED…


	6. Chapter 6

Phantasmal Truths -- Chapter 6

Phantasmal Truths

By:Mark J. Hadley

**CHAPTER 6**

_ _

Blossom scanned the skies, but couldn't find any trace of Bubbles anywhere…neither could Buttercup.They were beginning to get worried…all they knew was that Him wanted to get into their minds for some reason, and whatever the reason was, he must have succeeded with Bubbles."Where could she be?" Blossom wondered.

"I dunno," Buttercup said."Whatever Him did to her, we gotta see if there's a way to stop it."

"Yeah, there's no telling _what_ he might have done…or how much she could take right now," Blossom agreed.They kept their eyes peeled as they soared over Townsville._Please, Bubbles,_ she thought._Wherever you are, please be safe…we're coming…_

***

Bubbles had no idea what was going on.Everywhere she looked, she saw more of them walking down the streets…zombies, of every shape and size.Each one turned their cold stares up to her as she flew overhead, and she shuddered with fear at their gazes.She knew what was on their minds…what they would do to her if she went near them…the thought chilled her, and she felt lost, and afraid…

_How did this happen?_ she thought._They're everywhere…it's horrible!Did Him do this?Did he do it to the whole town?Oh god…what if he did?!No, I can't give up hope…there's gotta be someone left alive somewhere…please, let there be someone else alive, please…_

She descended down to the street in an empty block of town.It was early, and the sun hadn't come up yet, and so there weren't any people around this area at the moment.Landing in the street, she headed over a door to one of the apartment buildings and carefully knocked on it.She glanced nervously behind her on the street, and thought, _I hope someone's there…it's not safe out here!I have to get someplace safe…_

She heard the door swing open, and turned back to face it, saying, "Hello, I was wond—…"A moment later, her speech was cut off by her own scream.There was another one at the door…another zombie._Th-they're in the buildings, _she thought…_there's nowhere safe to go!_Before the zombie could attack her, she quickly shoved it backwards and took off in the opposite direction, flying into the sky again as fast as she could.

She cast only a momentary glance back at the apartment, where the zombie was struggling to get back to its feet._They're all zombies now,_ she realized with dread…_No, maybe there's still someone left!Blossom and Buttercup!They won't be zombies…I gotta find them!_

From the ground inside of her apartment, the old woman who had answered the door watched Bubbles disappear into the sky, and stiffly tried to pick herself up off the ground, saying, "Oof…was…was that one of the…Powerpuff Girls…?"

***

Buttercup spotted something in the distance, a streak of blue light flying away from a group of apartment buildings."There she is!" she shouted, pointing it out to Blossom.

"What's she up to?" Blossom said."It looks like she's in a hurry.Let's get over there as fast as we can!"Buttercup nodded, and the two of them flew off on an intercept course.

Bubbles heard the sound of something rushing through the air in her direction…she spun around nervously, and saw the pink and green streaks flying towards her from the distance…for a moment, she was relieved, until they came into view.She suddenly felt cold, and fright filled her…it was Blossom and Buttercup all right, but they looked different.Both of their outfits were ripped and tattered, their skin was a pale bluish color, and their eyes were puffy, giving that same dead stare that she had seen on the others._Oh…oh no…no…_

Blossom saw Bubbles staring at them with a look of fear in her eyes, and almost without recognition.Her tears were welling up, and she whispered, "…n-no…"

"Bubbles, are you okay?" Buttercup asked, drifting closer."What's wrong?"

Bubbles watched as the zombies grew closer to her.Their mouths barely moved, and all she could hear were low moans escaping their throats._Wh-what do I do?!_ she thought._They're dead…the zombies got them!I'm…I'm all alone!!_Shrinking back from them, she stammered, "N-no, not you t-too…"

"Huh?" Blossom said, confused at Bubbles' words."Not us _what_?"

Buttercup flew closer, reaching out to put an arm around her in comfort, "Easy, Bubbles…you've had a scare, but…"

Before Bubbles could react, the Buttercup zombie had flown closer to her, outstretching her arms._No, no!I can't let 'em get me!!_She shoved the zombie's arm back, and yelled, "No!Leave me alone!Stay back!!_Stay back!!_"

Buttercup was surprised at Bubbles' reaction, shoving her back like that…she could see that she was afraid of them for some reason, very afraid.Blossom quickly ordered, "Hold her!We've got to get her to listen to us!"Both of them flew up to opposite sides of Bubbles, each grabbing hold of an arm, and Blossom continued, "Now, Bubbles…take a deep breath, and try to explain what's…"

_Oh no oh no oh no,_ Bubbles thought, as the zombies grabbed her.She couldn't move…their grip was too strong.The Blossom zombie bared its teeth and made a strange hiss-like noise, and she knew she was preparing to bite her.She panicked, and shrieked at the top of her voice, thrashing around in a frenzy to try and break free."_NOOO!!!_"

"Calm down!" Buttercup said as Bubbles struggled, "We're not going to hurt…"Before she could finish, though, Bubbles blasted her point-blank with her eyebeams, forcing Buttercup to let go.She swung her now-free arm at Blossom as hard as she could, slamming into her jaw and sending her flying backwards into the side of a building.Without wasting a moment, Bubbles spun around and flew away.

By the time Buttercup recovered from the eybeam blast, Bubbles was out of sight.Blossom pulled herself out of the imprint that her impact had made on the side of the building, and said, "What was that?Something's not right with Bubbles…"

"Yeah, she was completely freaked out!" Buttercup said.

At that moment, Him materialized in front of them.They spun to face him as he lay on his back in the air, holding the Phantasmal Orb up in front of him."So, I see you've found Bubbles," he remarked melodiously."Is she doing well?"

Blossom gritted her teeth, "What did you _do_ to her?!"

"Merely the _true_ power of the Phantasmal Orb, girls," he replied."You see, the orb _can_ alter what you see, what you hear, _all_ your perceptions…but only for a little while.I have to sit and concentrate to keep it going, you know."He grinned, staring at the orb again., "But the orb _does_ have the power to make the illusions more…lasting.The mind has to be willing, though…and believe me, Bubbles was _more_ than willing to open her mind to me!"

"So _that's_ what you were up to!" Buttercup exclaimed._Oh man, he almost tricked me before!_ she thought…_I woulda ended up just like Bubbles!_

"That's right!" he said."I merely made it so that _eeeeveryone_ she looked at was part of her 'nightmare'…and even better…"He held the orb up to one eye, peering at the girls through it, making his eyeball look larger."…I've _magnified_ her fear.Don't expect to reason with her…"

"You've definitely gone too far this time, Him!" Blossom shouted."As soon as Bubbles shakes off whatever illusion you're giving her, we'll…"

"I'm afraid it's not that easy, girls," Him interrupted, taunting them."You see…Bubbles is going to be like that…"His voice darkened, "…_forever!_"

They were stunned.Blossom was completely thunderstruck by this piece of information._She's stuck like that?No, it can't be!Oh no…Bubbles!_She gritted her teeth as it all sank in._It's all Him's fault!He's going to pay for this!!_

Him waved a claw in the air and said, "Don't worry _too_ much about Bubbles, you two…for you see, you'll be joining her soon enough!I'll just wear you down with more nightmares and illusions…day after day, week after week, if necessary, until eventually, you'll be _pleading_ for me to release you.Your will shall be broken, and your minds will become open books, upon which _I_ will write the new pages…"

As Him started laughing, Buttercup could take his ranting no longer, and with a fierce battle cry, she charged forward, swinging a punch at Him.It connected with his chin, knocking him back through the air…but as he recovered from the hit, he rubbed his jaw and smiled, continuing to laugh.Shaking her fists, Buttercup yelled, "Stop laughing!"

"You're so concerned with fighting _me_," Him said cheerfully, "that you don't realize what _else_ is going on…"He looked back over his shoulder, towards some of the buildings in Townsville far off in the distance, and a moment later, one of them was suddenly rocked with an explosion."Shouldn't you be keeping an eye on Bubbles?"

With a gasp, the girls turned their attentions towards the buildings in the distance.As soon as their backs were turned, Him said, "_Surprise!_" and plumes of thick, red smoke started encircling both of them.They looked around, startled, as their surroundings vanished from sight…

***

_Nowhere to hide,_ Bubbles thought…_they're everywhere!They're gonna get me…just like in my dream!How could we let this happen?How?!We turn our backs for a second, and Him does this to the whole town…maybe even the whole world!_She flew out from the building through the hole she blasted with her eyebeams, leaving the dozens of zombies behind that were still inside.

_I'm alone…I'm all alone…_She shut her eyes as she soared back into the air, tears streaming down the sides of her face._Oh, why?Why did it have to be this way?Everyone, gone…even my sisters…_ She shuddered as she imagined what they probably went through…the zombies biting them, like in her dream…their screams of horror…

_What can I do?_ she thought sadly._It's all over…we lost.Maybe I can keep going on for a little while, but eventually the zombies are gonna get _me_ too…no, I don't wanna be like that…I'll die first…_

***

When the smoke cleared, the girls found themselves inside the lair of Him.They couldn't move…some strange, red vine-like substance was wrapped around their arms and legs, holding them each suspended over two different pits.Both of the pits were filled wit a bubbling green liquid, and they could feel the heat rising from them.They both struggled to get free, but whatever it was that was holding them, it was too strong to break.

Blossom looked up at the vines and tried to fire her eyebeams, but they wouldn't fire for some reason.She felt something in the air…it was nullifying their powers._Maybe it's this stuff that's holding us,_ she decided._How did he manage to capture both of us so easily?_

As Buttercup continued tugging at the restraints, Him materialized in front of them, grinning in triumph and rubbing his claws together."Now, at last, I have the two of you…and we're going to play a little game…"

"We're not playing _any_ of your games, Him!" Blossom shouted."Let us go!"

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice," he told them.Waving one of his claws, a pillar of black rock rose up from the ground in front of Buttercup, stopping right in front of her.There was a large lever on top, like a switch.As this happened, the substance that was holding them receded from one of her arms, freeing it.Buttercup wasted no time in trying to pound herself free from the other restraints, but it was still no good.

"You'd better listen, Buttercup, because I'm only going to explain this game once," he said.Buttercup settled down and listened, and Him continued, "That lever in front of you will help you decide your fate, little one."

"What do you mean?" Buttercup demanded.

Him explained, "Those pits beneath you…they can destroy anyone, even ones as powerful as you.Oh, it'll _take_ longer for you, to be sure…about three days, actually…but eventually, it _will_.And it will be quite unpleasant for those three days, also, I can promise you…"

Blossom bit her lip, and asked, "So what's your game?"

"It's simple," he said, drifting up next to the lever."Buttercup has the honor of making the choice.Push the lever forward, and Blossom will be dropped into her pit.Once she is…finished…you will be free to go, no questions asked.Pull the lever _towards_ you, and _you_ will be the one dropped into the pit instead, and it is _Blossom_ that will be released…"

Buttercup stared at the lever and paled, "You aren't serious!I'm not gonna make a choice like _that!_"She looked over at Blossom, who looked equally pale.

"Oh, but you _must_…it's one or the other, Buttercup," Him said, barely containing the delight in his voice."If you choose _not_ to decide, well…I'll just have to drop you _both_ into the pits.So if you want _one_ of you to come out alive, you had better choose who that will be.And whoever it is will have _quite_ a good show, watching the _other_ for three days…"

"I…I…" Buttercup stammered.

"Not to your liking?" he asked."Well, I have another choice, one which will allow you _both_ to leave here alive…"He withdrew the Phantasmal Orb, holding it up in front of him, "Open your mind to the orb's powers…then, and _only_ then will you _both_ be allowed to leave…"

"No!Buttercup, you ca—…" Blossom began, but she was cut off as more of the vine-like restraints snaked out and wrapped around her mouth, silencing her like a gag.

Him waved his claw, "Ah ah ah, Blossom…this is _Buttercup's_ decision, not yours."Him drifted back and waited eagerly, "You'd better make a decision quickly…as I said, if you take too long, you _both_ will perish.So, which will it be, Buttercup?"

Buttercup sweated, her eyes locked on the lever.She looked over at Blossom again, who was staring back at her.Looking into those fear-filled eyes just made it harder to decide._Oh man, oh man_, she thought_…what am I going to do?I can't make this kind of decision!Either way, this is awful…I'm either gonna die slowly, or I gotta watch it happen to Blossom…I can't do it!I just can't!_

She looked down at the green liquid in the pit beneath her, and shuddered._I don't want either of us to go through this…not the pit, not watching it…nothing.Maybe…maybe I should just open my mind like he said…at least that way, we're both still alive…_

"I'm waiting…" Him said, impatiently.

"S-so if I j-just open my mind," Buttercup asked, "y-you'll let us g-go?"

A wicked smile crossed Him's face, and he nodded.Blossom was frantically shaking her head, and when Buttercup saw this, she thought, _No, maybe this is a bad idea…I'll end up just like Bubbles!And I'll be stuck like that forever!Blossom's right…that's worse.Worse for us, worse for Townsville.But still…I can't decide!Oh god, why did it have to be me?Why?!_

Blossom watched in horror.She couldn't say anything, couldn't do anything but watch.In a moment, Buttercup was going to make a decision, and she had to be prepared for it.To die, or to watch Buttercup die…it was madding for her just not knowing which one Buttercup was going to choose.

_I hope she pushes that lever forward_, she thought…_or do I?I don't know if I could stand the thought of Buttercup having to watch me for three days, and then having to live, knowing that she was the one who dropped me in.But I don't want to see anything happen to her, either…_She continued to watch helplessly…

***

As she soared high over the town, Bubbles knew it was all over.She didn't want to live in a world infested with zombies, and the thought of what they would do to her if they caught her was too much to think about.She thought about ending it all now, instead of giving them the chance._Everyone else is gone anyway,_ she told herself._What is there left for you?_

She thought she saw someone nearby, hovering in the air…no, three people.One was hard to make out from the back, but it looked like…Him.The sight of him made her feel angry, but also filled her with fear.Now, more than ever, she knew she was helpless to stop him.The other two she saw where her sisters, still zombies, floating there in front of him as though they were waiting for his orders.

She felt like turning around and fleeing as fast as she could.Getting to safety, someplace where they couldn't find her._No,_ she told herself, _he has to pay!He can't get away with this!You've got to face him!You've got to!_Gathering what was left of her courage, she launched herself in their direction…

***

Him spoke up, "You're almost out of time, Buttercup.A decision now, if you please…"

"All right, all right!" Buttercup exclaimed."I've…I've made up my mind…"Blossom held her breath as she watched Buttercup reach out slowly with a shaking hand, grasping the lever.Buttercup hesitated, her hand still trembling, then closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself…she whispered to herself aloud, "One….two…"

She didn't get the chance to make it to three, because at that moment, Bubbles seemed to appear out of nowhere, striking Him in the back with a kick.Her presence startled him, since his attention was on Blossom and Buttercup, and he certainly didn't expect an attack from someone he thought was harmless.He staggered forward from the hit, and the Phantasmal Orb slipped from his hands, falling out into the air…

The instant it left his hands, the scene around them vanished…they were back in the skies above Townsville again.Everything was gone…the restraints, the pit, everything._It was an illusion!_ Blossom thought._He tricked us again!I should have known…_

Him watched the orb plummet down towards the streets below, and yelled, "No!"He immediately started descending towards the street, leaving a trail of flame behind him.Buttercup was still shocked by the sudden change in scenery, but Blossom had recovered, and thought, _Oh no you don't!_She started flying down after the orb also.

Bubbles, in the meantime, fixed her gaze on Buttercup.Her expression made it clear that she still was under the orb's influence.She powered up her eyebeams and yelled, "No more zombies!_No more zombies!!_"Gasping, Buttercup raised her arms to shield herself…

Down below, Him had almost reached the orb, and he was definitely going to get to it before Blossom did."Yes, yesss!" he hissed."I have you now!Your efforts are futile, and soon, I will have the power once again!"

Blossom clenched her teeth, and knew she had to do something.She made a decision…but then, her mind still flashed some doubt._What if this backfires?What if it makes the situation worse, like in my dream?You don't know what effect this will have!No, don't hesitate, this is your chance!Besides, that was just a dream before…this is real!If you don't do something now, we could all be doomed!_

She nodded to herself, and quickly fired a blast from her eyebeams.The beams shot past Him, and just before he could grab the orb, they struck into it.With a brilliant flash of purple and white energy, the orb shattered, and its energy spread outwards in a purplish mist, which quickly started dissipated into the air.Him shouted, is voice dark with anger, "NO!You meddlesome fool!!"

Up above, Bubbles' eyebeams powered down before she fired.She shook he head and rubbed her eyes, clenching them shut.Buttercup was confused by this sudden change in behavior, and said, "Uh…Bubbles?"

Bubbles looked up, and was overjoyed to see Buttercup in front of her…perfectly normal."_Buttercup!!_" Bubbles exclaimed, flying over and nearly tackling her in a hug."You're _alive!_"

Buttercup smiled happily._She's all right!_ she thought."Great to have you back, Bubbles!C'mon!"She started flying down towards where Him and Blossom went, and Bubbles followed close behind.Her expression was equally joyful to see Blossom down below, also back to normal.

Him was furious…the Phantasmal Orb, which had taken so much time and energy to create, had been destroyed…and he had been so close to winning!He turned to face Blossom and growled, "This isn't over!"

"Not by a long shot," Blossom said, frowning back."You'll pay for what you did to us, mark my words!"As she spoke, Bubbles and Buttercup flew down, hovering at her side.

"Perhaps, but not today," Him said, his voice returning to its usual melodic tone."I'll be back…and next time, it is _I_ who will be victorious…"He was just about to leave, when what was left of the purple mist from the orb drifted over to him, surrounding him.He looked momentarily perplexed at this, but then his eyes widened, almost fearfully…he shouted, "No…_NO!!_"A moment later, he vanished, returning to his lair.

Buttercup asked, "What happened?"

"I don't know," Blossom replied, "but if I'm right, I _imagine_ he's going to have some problems of his own pretty soon."

Bubbles laughed, and said, "Oh, I'm so happy that you're all okay!I thought…I thought it was the end of the world…"As she looked down towards the street below, she spotted citizens walking by—normal citizens, not zombies—and knew that everything was back to normal once again.

A sudden thought occurred to her, though, "The professor!We have to go see if he's okay!"The other girls nodded, and the three of them started flying off towards the hospital, hoping that he made it there safely.

As they flew, Blossom asked, "So, Buttercup…what did you decide?"

"What?" Buttercup said, confused.

"You know," she clarified."The lever…"

"Oh…" Buttercup replied."I…uh…"She hesitated.

Blossom smiled and shook her head, "It's all right if you don't want to tell me.I'm sure whatever choice you made would have been for the best in such a dismal situation like that…"

Buttercup cracked a grin, "Thanks…"

***

The three of them arrived at the hospital.They found out at the desk that Professor Utonium _had_ been admitted, and the doctors informed them that he was currently in stable condition.Besides a few minor cracked ribs, he was okay.They were incredibly relieved, and asked if they could see him…the doctors agreed; though it was definitely not visiting hours, they decided to make an exception in this case.

They flew into the professor's room…he was lying on one of the beds, bandaged up, and with a few bruises on his face, but other than that, he looked fine.His expression brightened up when he saw them enter, "Girls!"

"Professor!" they cried out.

They flew over and hugging him from all sides.The professor cringed a little, "Ow!Watch the ribs…"They nodded and backed up a little to give him some breathing room."Before you say anything, I know it wasn't your fault.I forgive you completely."

"Thanks, professor," Blossom said."How are you feeling?"

"Oh, better now…" he replied."How about you three?You look a lot better than when I left you before…"

The three of them quickly explained the entire situation to him and everything that had happened.About Him, the Phantasmal Orb, and what he was trying to do.The professor was shocked, but he was glad to see that they made it through all right.He was thankful that it was an outside influence, and that they weren't, in fact, losing their minds.

"Still," Blossom said, "some of the dreams were really creepy.I mean, I know they were false, but they still had some truth to them…like one I had where we were blamed for 'creating' all the major villains in the city…"

"And some of the bad ones, I don't think I'll _ever_ forget," Bubbles said, still sounding disturbed."I still feel kinda scared that I might have a nightmare…but now that I know what was making them, and that it's gone, I'm not so scared anymore…"

The professor nodded, "You've been through a lot, girls…but you've shown a _much_ stronger will that most children your age…in fact, you've made it through situations in the past that even us _adults_ would have a hard time coping with.I'm proud of your courage."

"Yeah…" Buttercup said, but then hesitated, as she remembered something she was going to ask him."Professor…will I grow up?"The other girls gave her a confusing look.

"Of course you will," the professor said."Why do you ask?"

"No good reason, I guess," she replied."I was told by Him that one of my powers kept me from getting any older…"

The professor smiled, and said, "Sweetie, you've _already_ grown a little since you were created.If that's not sign enough, than I don't know what _is_.You'll be fine, all of you…"

Blossom smiled, and then asked, "So, are you going to come home soon?"

"They're going to keep me here until morning to make sure I'm all right," the professor told them."Why don't you three go home and get some rest?It's the weekend, so you can sleep until noon to catch up on what you missed if you'd like, okay?"

"Okay!" Bubbles agreed.She flew over and kissed him on the top of the head, "Goodnight, professor."

"Goodnight, girls," he said, as they started to leave the room, "and pleasant dreams."

Blossom smiled as they left._Tonight we will,_ she thought…_Tonight we will…_

***

Him appeared in his lair, waving his arms to try and get rid of the purple mist that had tagged along.It finally dissipated completely, and he sighed."Well…at least I'm back, now.Home sweet home…"

As he started heading for his throne, he became aware of another mist that seemed to be closing in on him from all sides.Raising an eyebrow, he said, "Eh…?"It surrounded him like a bright white cloud of vapor.He shielded his eyes against it, and growled, "What's going on?!"

It finally cleared, and Him glanced around in shock.He was standing on the surface of a white, fluffy cloud…a brightly-colored rainbow was overhead, intersecting the clear blue sky, bright and sunny.A group of butterflies passed by, and some small rabbits were hopping around on the cloud.Beautiful music filled the air, permeating every corner of this place…

It was almost paradise…

Him grabbed the sides of his head and fell to his knees, shouting, "No!It's not fair!Let me out of this illusion…let me out!!"As he did this, several of the butterflies landed on him, and a dove set down on the cloud in front of him, looking up and cooing happily.Him threw back his head and bellowed, "_NOOOOOOOO!!!_…"

**_THE END_**


End file.
